Center of Gravity
by DefyingGravity1402
Summary: The third part of my story centering around Quinn and Santana and their lives together. You don't have to read my previous stories for this to make sense but it follows on from "Unravelling Quinn Fabray", and "Becoming Quinn Fabray", beginning six months after the last story finished.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: well, I'm back with another story in my series as some of you thought I was mean for leaving off where I did, LOL. Hope you all enjoy this one too, any feedback is very welcome! Updates are going to be slower than previously, maybe once or twice a week as I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment. Anyway, that said, here goes...**_

**Chapter One: Surprises**

Quinn Fabray loved most things about living in New York City. She was fascinated by the architecture of the historic buildings, and she adored the culture of music, art and theater. She enjoyed her classes at Columbia University, even though her junior year workload was proving to be ever more demanding - she thrived on the intellectual stimulation of learning. She even loved the tiny, rundown studio apartment she shared with her girlfriend Santana, despite the crazy neighbors and the non too inspiring view of a brick wall outside their windows. But the one thing Quinn could not stand about New York, which forcibly came to mind as she climbed the steps from the subway, wrapping her scarf more tightly around her ears to stave off the howling wind and stepping absently into a slushy, icy puddle, was the early winter weather... Of course, she'd grown up in Ohio and she'd been no fan of the weather there either she reminded herself as it began to rain and she fumbled in her bag to find her umbrella.

As a rule, Quinn usually walked the fifteen blocks from the Columbia campus back to her apartment. She liked the exercise, and viewed the subway as an unnecessary expense, but she'd treated herself for once because the weather was particularly frightful, and because today was her twenty-first birthday.

In most respects, the day had been a particularly ordinary Wednesday. A few friends had taken her for cake and coffee at lunchtime, and some of her old high school friends had texted or emailed birthday wishes, but otherwise it had been a day of classes and mid-term preparation. The highlight of her day had been Santana making her breakfast in bed, and despite Quinn's apprehension regarding her culinary skills, only burning the bacon at the edges. After breakfast, Santana had tried her hardest to convince her girlfriend to blow off classes and spend the morning together in bed, and even though Quinn's body was screaming at her to agree, her academic diligence wouldn't allow her to say yes. So she'd headed off to class trying not to pout and sulk about the fact that she wouldn't get to see her girlfriend again until eleven o'clock that night. Santana hadn't been able to find anyone to switch shifts with her at the Spotlight Diner where she worked part time as a waitress, so Quinn would be heading home to an empty apartment. Her birthday celebrations would have to wait until the weekend, when Santana had arranged dinner and drinks with their friends.

The elevator was out of order as usual so Quinn traipsed wearily up the stairs, her shoes squelching with every step. She paused at the end of the corridor to scratch the ears of her neighbor's cat, who had once again escaped from his overbearing owner. Quinn didn't blame him in the slightest. Balancing her books precariously against her thigh, Quinn fumbled with the locks on the apartment door. She finally managed to get the door open and drop her books onto the kitchen counter where they landed with a dull thud. The apartment was dark, as Santana had listened to her for once and closed the curtains before leaving for school, something Quinn was always begging her to do in order to keep the heat in. Quinn left the door to the hallway ajar to let a sliver of light into the room as she shrugged out of her coat and scarf before turning around to flip the light switch.

"Surprise!" screamed about a half dozen voices in unison, causing Quinn's heart to skip and then begin pounding rapidly in her chest. Santana bounced over to her shocked girlfriend and planted a hot, wet, verging on inappropriate kiss on her shock-parted lips. When Quinn finally managed to extricate herself from Santana's excited embrace, feeling her cheeks flush but unable to stop the grin from spreading across her features, she looked around in amazement at her friends.

Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel beamed at her from the living area. Sam, who had moved to New York after graduation to try his luck as a model and had been moderately successful in his attempt, bounded across the room to give her a hug, and Artie, who was in his sophomore year of film school grinned at her and waved from his spot by the window. Although he and Quinn hadn't stayed closely in touch since high school, Quinn would always be grateful to Artie for the support he gave her during her spell in a wheelchair after her car accident. Quinn wondered briefly how they'd managed to get Artie up to the apartment in his wheelchair with the elevator broken down, but as her friends gathered around to wish her a happy birthday she forgot all about it.

Her friends showered her with balloons, flowers, and gifts before turning up the stereo and pushing the couch against the wall to create a small dance floor. Santana handed Quinn a glass of wine and bounced excitedly on her heels.

"Were you really surprised?" she asked, and Quinn felt a rush of love at her girlfriend's childish enthusiasm. She slid her free arm around Santana's waist and leant her head into the crook of her shoulder contentedly.

"I was," she confirmed with a low chuckle. "I spoke to Rachel and Kurt earlier and they didn't let anything slip... I wouldn't have thought they'd have it in them to keep a secret."

Then it was Santana's turn to laugh. "I may have intimated that I couldn't be held responsible for my actions if they let you find out," she admitted.

"Hmm," Quinn murmured, placing her glass on the kitchen counter so that she could loop both arms around her girlfriend and meet her gaze. "I'm not sure how much effect that would have these days, you're not as scary as you used to be. I think you're mellowing in your old age."

Santana smacked the grinning blonde in the arm and pouted. "One, I can still be a bad ass when I want to be," she said, as Quinn tried and failed to keep a straight face, "and two, I'm four months younger than you, so less of the old, thank you!"

Quinn raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Still a bad ass, huh?" she teased. Then she leaned in to whisper in Santana's ear so that her friends couldn't overhear. "Maybe you can channel your inner bad ass later tonight when we're alone... I know I never admitted it but it _really_ used to turn me on in high school when Snixxx made an appearance." As she pulled back to look into Santana's eyes, she felt a little thrill at the way the brunette's cheeks were flushed. She knew that Santana was fighting the urge to kick their friends out immediately. "Dance with me?" she commanded, putting extra sway into her walk as she led Santana to join the rest of their friends who were jumping around to the beat and singing loudly, reminiscent of the way they'd fooled around back in glee club. As she rocked her hips against Santana's, Quinn knew she was being a tease, but she figured she could get away with it as it was her birthday.

After about twenty minutes of frenetic dancing, Quinn heard a hammering on the apartment door, and she groaned as she hurried to turn down the music, wondering which of her neighbors was about to complain. Santana and their friends all suddenly seemed to find themselves engrossed in conversation or busy pouring drinks so it was left to Quinn to answer the door. Stomping across the apartment, Quinn frowned at the unfairness. She and Santana were always... well, mostly... quiet and considerate neighbors, and the one time they made a little bit of noise someone wanted to shut them down. She put on her best HBIC glare as she reached to open the door, but her expression changed in an instant when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Happy birthday, Quinn!" Beth yelled happily, as she clung to Shelby's hand. "Mommy said you were having a party with cake and presents, and I could have cake if I ate my dinner, and I did eat it."

"Happy birthday," Shelby said as she greeted Quinn with a one-armed hug. "Santana said we should stop by, I hope that's okay?"

Quinn stepped aside to usher them into the apartment eagerly.

"Of course it's okay," she replied, beaming at the suddenly shy little girl who had noticed all the unfamiliar adults and had lost her confidence. She knelt down to pick Beth up and hold her protectively against her hip. "Beth, these are my friends... You know Santana, and you've met Rachel before. And these guys are Sam, Blaine, Kurt, and Artie."

Beth smiled shyly and buried her head against Quinn's shoulder. Shelby reached out to stroke her daughter's back soothingly as she grinned apologetically at Quinn's friends.

"Give her a few minutes and she'll be fine," she suggested. Quinn saw Shelby's gaze pause on Rachel and it didn't escape her notice when Rachel looked away uncomfortably. Quinn couldn't help but feel bad for her friend. She knew that it was still awkward and difficult for Rachel to be around her birth mother, especially watching her being so devoted to Beth, and she was grateful to Rachel for putting her discomfort aside and allowing Quinn the opportunity to spend her birthday with everyone she loved.

"Is this a new dress?" Quinn asked the little girl in her arms, smoothing the red taffeta skirt gently. Beth nodded and Quinn smiled at her affectionately. "I thought so. It's very pretty. And red is Santana's favorite color. I bet she wishes she had a dress this pretty."

"I do," Santana agreed, sidling up to Quinn and slipping an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "Hey, B, you wanna see the cake I got for Quinn?" She'd said the magic words. Instantly, Beth's shyness dissipated and she held her arms out to Santana. "It's a surprise though so we can't let Quinn see until it's time to blow out the candles. And she's really old now so there's going to be a lot of candles. She might need you to help her blow them out."

Quinn watched as Santana balanced Beth on her hip and carried her into the bedroom area of the tiny apartment. For lack of anywhere more suitable, it appeared Santana had placed the cake box on her nightstand, and she lifted the lid for Beth to peek inside. Watching Santana with the four year old only made Quinn love her girlfriend even more. In the five months since she'd introduced them, Quinn had watched their relationship blossom. Beth adored Santana, and Quinn knew the feeling was mutual. She couldn't help but imagine how it would be if they had a little girl of their own in the future. That thought used to terrify her but lately Quinn found herself daydreaming about the future more and more regularly.

Aware that Shelby was still standing uncertainly in the kitchen, Quinn busied herself offering the older woman a drink, and unwrapping the gift Shelby offered her - a beautiful silk scarf with a pattern of tiny olive green hearts. Sam and Blaine came over to talk to them, and engaged Shelby in conversation whilst Kurt kept Rachel occupied, allowing Santana and Quinn to dance with Beth. Beth soon forgot her shyness and instead began to revel in the fact that she had a roomful of adults who were captivated by her charm. All in all, Quinn felt that her birthday was pretty much perfect.

Santana brought out the cake, which was a pale lemon color and covered in delicate sugar daisies, and as Santana had promised, Quinn let Beth help her blow out the candles. She didn't even blush when Santana kissed her passionately as all their friends cheered.

Eventually, the party drew to a close. Shelby gathered up Beth who'd fallen asleep on Quinn and Santana's bed when the sugar crash from her two slices of birthday cake had hit, and their friends left en masse, Blaine and Sam preparing to carry Artie down the stairs as Kurt and Rachel brought his wheelchair. Quinn hugged them all and thanked them for coming, her eyes shining with emotion, before she closed the door and looked around wearily but happily at the messy apartment and her beautiful girlfriend who was tossing paper plates into a trash bag.

"Hey you," she murmured, sidling up to Santana and wrapping her arms around her from behind. She planted a kiss against Santana's pulse point and her girlfriend hummed appreciatively. "Why don't you leave the cleaning up until tomorrow?" Quinn suggested, trying to pull Santana towards their bed, but the brunette chuckled as she wriggled out of the embrace.

"Q, you know I hate all the domestic stuff, but this place looks like a bomb's gone off and I know that's got to be driving you crazy," Santana teased. "Think of this as part of your birthday present."

"I can think of something I'd like more,"Quinn said hopefully and Santana smirked at her.

"All in good time," she said, putting down the trash bag and taking Quinn's hands in hers. "I have big plans for you tonight." She brushed a soft kiss across Quinn's lips but pulled back as Quinn tried to deepen their connection.

"Patience," she chastised gently. "Why don't you go take a bath while I clean up, and then I'm all yours."

"You promise?" Quinn murmured, as Santana's fingers ghosted across her cheek and over her jaw.

"Cross my heart,"agreed Santana.

Quinn allowed her girlfriend to lead her into the bathroom and turn on the faucet. She undressed as Santana lit the candles on the window sill before casting her eyes hungrily over Quinn's figure. Quinn giggled at Santana's audible groan as she backed out of the doorway reluctantly to finish her clean up operation.

Twenty minutes later, Santana returned, carrying two glasses of champagne, and wearing a grape colored camisole and panties set that left little to the imagination. Quinn cast her gaze appreciatively over Santana's shapely figure as the brunette knelt at the side of the tub.

"As promised," she whispered, her lips brushing against Quinn's ear. "The clean up's all done, so I'm all yours. Whatever you want to do with me..."

"I can think of a few things," Quinn said, turning her head to capture Santana's mouth in a passionate kiss. Santana's left hand threaded into her hair, holding her close, as her right hand stroked its way down Quinn's wet, soapy arm to clasp her hand tightly.

"Let's get you out of the water before it gets cold," murmured Santana between kisses.

Quinn allowed Santana to help her stand up and her girlfriend wrapped a warm towel around her body, rubbing her hands vigorously up and down Quinn's sides to dry her off. Quinn felt a flood of desire at the feeling of Santana's hands on her body, even through the fluffy fabric of the towel, and she tried to pull her closer. Santana shook her head and danced backwards, keeping Quinn at arms length. She seemed content to take her time, and that just made Quinn want her even more.

"Santana!" she whined, as Santana took her hands and led her out of the bathroom. "I want you."

Santana chuckled. "And you can have me," she promised, her dark eyes sparkling in amusement. "After I give you your gift."

"You're the only thing I want to unwrap," pleaded Quinn and Santana snickered.

"That's bad, Q," she said, shaking her head softly. "Now, close your eyes and hold out your hand." Quinn's eyes narrowed warily, as she adjusted the towel that was wrapped around her torso.

"Why?" she demanded.

"So I can give you your gift," Santana said rolling her eyes and groaning melodramatically. "It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises," Quinn grumbled, as Santana pushed at her shoulders until she sat down on the bed, before kneeling down in front of her.

"Yes you do, " countered Santana. "You say you don't, but you're all talk, Fabray. You loved when I surprised you with our trip to San Antonio, and you had a good time at the party tonight. And, do I have to remind you how much you enjoyed the surprising way I woke you up last Saturday?"

Quinn couldn't help but shiver in pleasure as the memory of waking up tingling from head to toe, with Santana's silky hair tickling her legs as her tongue did amazing things between her thighs. She wanted nothing more than to relive those sensations once again so she obediently closed her eyes and held out her right palm.

"Keep your eyes closed," murmured Santana.

"Why?" Quinn asked again, her voice less demanding and more curious this time.

"Because I have something I want to say before you see what I got you," Santana explained, her voice trembling slightly. "I love you, so much, and every morning I wake up next to you I'm so... astounded... that I could get so lucky."

"I love you too," Quinn said softly. "And _I'm_ the lucky one." Santana touched her right index finger to Quinn's lips to quieten her. Quinn moaned softly at the tingles the simple touch sent racing down her spine.

"Ssh, let me finish," Santana murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I want to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life..."

"You will," Quinn interjected and Santana chuckled.

"Seriously, Q, do I have to gag you until I finish talking?" she teased, stroking tiny circles on the inside of Quinn's knee with the fingertips of her left hand.

Quinn shook her head. "I'll be quiet, I promise," she said, planting a tiny kiss on the pad of Santana's finger that was still pressed against her lips.

"Six months ago you made me the happiest girl in the world," Santana said quietly. "I never thought you'd actually say yes to marrying me, but you did. And I know that we decided to keep it to ourselves because of the timing and the questions and pressure it would cause, and I'm okay with that, really. But that doesn't mean I didn't want to do this the right way. I just... I wanted to wait until the perfect moment to do this." Quinn heard her take a deep, shaky breath. Seconds later she felt a small velvet box being pressed into her hand. "Open your eyes, Q," Santana instructed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: thank you for your reviews and follows so far, hope you enjoy chapter two...**_

**Chapter Two: Questions and Answers**

"Will you marry me?" Santana asked as Quinn stared, wide-eyed, at the small blue box resting on her upturned palm. Quinn swallowed hard as she tore her gaze away from the engagement ring to look into Santana's anxious, beautiful face. A maelstrom of emotions swirled through her and she felt tears burning in the corners of her eyes. She bit down hard on her lower lip as she fought not to cry. Her whole body trembled as she fought to stay in control.

Santana obviously construed her silence as a bad sign and she began to babble uncontrollably. "I know it's not a very big diamond and I didn't know if you'd prefer to pick out your own ring... but there was just something about it... I thought it was elegant and beautiful, like you... but if you don't like it, we can always choose something else? That is, if you still want to marry me someday? Because, if you've changed your mind..." She trailed off and took a shaky breath. "Quinn? Say something? _Anything_, please?"

Quinn obediently opened her mouth but she was at a loss for words. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she closed her eyes to try to compose herself. When she opened them, Santana's anxious expression appeared to be segueing into panic.

"You're having second thoughts, aren't you?" Santana whispered, her own eyes filling with tears.

Now it was Quinn's turn to panic as she fought to find the perfect way to explain to Santana what she was feeling. She needed to do something quickly, but the blood pounding in her ears was making it difficult for her to think clearly. Acting on instinct more than anything else, Quinn flung herself at Santana and kissed her fiercely. She tangled her fingers into Santana's long, silky hair as they tumbled onto the floor in a tangle of limbs, Santana winding up flat on her back. Quinn tried to convey all of her myriad of emotions through the kiss. Truthfully, she was terrified, but she wasn't in any doubt that she wanted to be with Santana for the rest of her life. She feared the depth of her emotion, and the vulnerability that came from letting someone in so deeply. She had already opened herself further to Santana than she ever had to anyone else. Despite all of her personal growth during the past few years, a small part if her was still anxious and nervous about what the rest of the world might think of her choices, and she was still afraid of getting hurt. All of this paled in comparison to the love she felt for Santana however. Some mornings she would wake up early and just watch Santana sleep, mesmerised by the beautiful woman lying beside her. She would find herself captivated by the fullness of Santana's lips, or the curl of her long, dark eyelashes, and she would thank God for bringing Santana into her world. And during the past eighteen months, Santana had become her world. The simple fact was Quinn needed her. She needed her the same way she needed to breathe oxygen to survive.

As they kissed, Quinn became aware of her lungs burning with the need for actual oxygen, and she tore herself away from the warm recesses of Santana's mouth, breathing hard. Santana reached up to brush stray blonde tendrils out of Quinn's eyes so that she could meet her gaze without obstruction, and she manoeuvred them both into a sitting position.

"Just to clarify," she said, panting as she tried to catch her breath. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," confirmed Quinn, a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

Santana searched for the ring box which Quinn had dropped during the ferocity of her attack and quickly located it under their bed. With surprisingly steady fingers, she slipped the ring onto Quinn's left hand. Quinn's skin tingled in the wake of Santana's touch and she studied the ring in awe. The design was simple, a single diamond set into a white gold band, but it was by far the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. She beamed as she held her hand up to the light, examining her ring from every angle.

"I wish I could've gotten you something bigger," Santana admitted shyly. "You deserve a really beautiful ring."

"_This_ is a really beautiful ring," Quinn assured her, planting a soft kiss against her fiancée's lips. "It's perfect. I love it, and I love you." She flung her arms around Santana, almost sending her crashing back against the hardwood floor again, but Santana grabbed at the bed frame to steady herself.

"So, we can tell people?" she asked hopefully as Quinn kissed her neck and moved to straddle her lap, her towel riding tantalisingly high on her thighs.

Quinn paused in her ministrations as she considered Santana's question carefully. Although Santana had agreed to keep their news to themselves when she'd initially proposed six months previously, the decision had definitely been Quinn's. She knew at the time that she wasn't really being fair to her girlfriend but she'd had her reasons. She was mourning Finn's death, and trying to build a relationship with her daughter. Six months ago, she'd only just begun to feel secure in her relationship with Santana, and she'd been reluctant for anything to change. She'd told Santana that she wanted something that was just for the two of them, something they didn't have to share with anyone else, and Santana had said she'd understood.

Things had changed a lot since that day. Quinn had an established relationship with Beth and the little girl adored Santana. Although they all still missed Finn, the initial pain had receded somewhat. And more than anything, Quinn knew that she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life making Santana happy. So she nodded firmly.

"I think we should tell our families first," she said with a wry smile. "I'm not sure how my mom'll take it. I mean, she's trying but it's still pretty hard for her. What do you think your parents will say?" Santana suddenly looked sheepish. "What?" Quinn demanded, trying not to laugh at her guilty expression. "You already told them, didn't you?"

"I didn't tell them everything, I swear," Santana explained hurriedly. "I meant it when I said I wouldn't tell anyone before we were ready. But I needed money to buy the ring, and I really wanted to give it to you tonight but I was a little short so I asked my parents to help me out."

"What _did_ you tell them?" asked Quinn curiously.

"That I love you," Santana said simply, "and that I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Quinn beamed at her.

"And what did they say?" she wanted to know.

"My mom said that she already thinks of you as her daughter," said Santana with a grin. "My dad didn't say much but he did warn me not to screw it up, so I'm pretty sure that means he likes you more than me already." She started trailing her fingertips up and down Quinn's exposed thigh enticingly as she spoke and Quinn was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing nothing more than a towel. "But I don't really want to talk about our parents right now," Santana pouted, tugging gently at the hem of Quinn's towel.

Quinn leaned in to kiss her fiancée gently on the lips. She brought her left hand up to cup Santana's cheek but couldn't help but be distracted by the shiny diamond adorning her finger.

Santana chuckled as she tried to regain Quinn's attention by sliding her hands underneath the towel and grasping her firmly by the hips. It did the trick. Quinn broke out of her haze with a squeal.

"Santana! Your hands are freezing!" She wriggled against the touch but Santana wasn't letting go.

"Well, you're the one who pushed us onto the floor," she reminded Quinn with a smirk. "It's cold down here. And I'm not exactly dressed for warmth right now."

Quinn cast her eyes appreciatively over Santana's lingerie clad figure. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to climb on top of the brunette and warm her up in the most pleasurable way she could think of, and from the way Santana's dark eyes were devouring her, Quinn knew her fiancée was having the same thoughts. Any other night, they probably would've given in to their base desires and had sex right there on the floor, but this night was special and an unspoken look passed between them as they both recognized that fact.

Reluctantly, Quinn climbed off Santana's lap and stood up. She held out a hand to her but their new position had brought Santana's gaze level with Quinn's shapely thighs and she appeared entranced as she licked her lips subconsciously. Quinn shivered, goosebumps erupting on her skin as Santana's eyes wandered over her legs. Gently, Santana stroked the pads of her fingers up the back of Quinn's calves, causing her to gasp lightly at the sensation.

"I thought you wanted to get off the floor," murmured Quinn with a giggle, as Santana's hands reached her knees and continued northwards.

Without breaking contact, Santana shifted her position so she was on her knees in front of Quinn.

"I haven't given you the rest of your birthday present yet," she said, her voice low with desire. Her hands were traveling over the back of Quinn's thighs now, closer and closer to the hem of the towel.

"I thought the ring was my present," Quinn said, her breath hitching on every word.

"The ring was part one of your present," clarified Santana as her fingers trailed under the towel, just brushing the tops of her thighs with a featherlight touch.

"What's part two?" Quinn asked, shivering with anticipation over where Santana's touch would travel next.

"Me," said Santana with a confident smirk. Her light caress suddenly intensified as her hands palmed Quinn's rear, kneading the supple flesh firmly. Quinn bit her lip to stifle a moan as her whole body flushed with desire. Santana tugged hard on the towel and it landed in a puddle at Quinn's feet, leaving her naked under Santana's hungry gaze.

Still kneeling in front of her, Santana pressed her lips lightly against Quinn's inner thigh, stroking the smooth skin with the tip of her tongue. "Since it's your birthday," Santana said between kitten licks, "I'll even let you choose what you want me to do to you... Anything at all, you just have to say the words."

"Oh God," whispered Quinn breathlessly, an even stronger wave of desire flooding her body.

Santana chuckled at the effect her offer had had on Quinn, who tugged the brunette to her feet and fused their mouths together in a wet, messy, desperate kiss. She laughed again at the low growl that tore from Quinn's throat when she pulled back from the kiss, panting hard.

"You said _anything_," Quinn reminded her with a pout.

"And I meant it," Santana assured her innocently. "But I also said you had to tell me what you wanted." She raised an eyebrow, fully aware of the effect she was having. "So, what do you want, Q?"

Quinn flushed scarlet, with a mixture of desire and frustration. She never had been much of a talker during sex, mostly because she felt embarrassed about vocalizing what she wanted. But this was Santana after all, her fiancée, the woman she'd just agreed to spend the rest of her life with. She loved Santana, and she trusted her.

Swallowing hard, Quinn licked her lips as she imagined all the different things she could ask Santana to do to her, and her whole body thrummed with need.

"I want your hands on me," she commanded, her voice surprisingly steady.

"Where?" Santana smirked maddeningly. Quinn let out a noise that was halfway between a whine and a groan as her fiancée continued to tease her.

"_Everywhere_," she replied hoarsely, almost crying with relief as Santana's left hand reached out to palm her breast, whilst her right stroked lightly over Quinn's left hip.

"Is this what you had in mind?" Santana queried, as she caressed Quinn's nipple with the pad of her thumb.

"Yes," Quinn murmured with a fierce nod. "Don't stop, please?"

Santana laughed. "Oh, Q," she admonished lightly. "I have no intention of stopping. I'm only just getting started." And with that said, Santana guided Quinn down onto the bed, never breaking the connection of her hands on Quinn's heated skin as she moved to straddle her before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's note: thank you so much for the feedback, it means a lot :) I know I said updates will be slower for this story, and on the whole they will, but I had a little time to write, so here's chapter three... Hope everyone likes it!_**

**Chapter Three: Connection**

Quinn lay in bed beside her sleeping fiancée, enjoying the pleasantly detached feeling in her muscles. After several hours of incredible love-making, Santana had collapsed in a sweaty, exhausted heap, curled her body against Quinn's side and fallen asleep almost instantly. Quinn, on the other hand, felt wide awake - every cell in her body buzzed with unbridled energy, and it was all she could do to lie still and avoid disturbing Santana. She held her left hand up to the shaft of moonlight trickling through a gap in the curtains and smiled as the diamond in her ring sparkled. She wiggled her fingers so the ring caught the light from different angles, before closing her eyes and willing herself to go to sleep.

It was no use. The illuminated numbers on the clock on her nightstand read 4.23 and Quinn mentally calculated how long Santana had been asleep, trying to decide if she dared wake the brunette. Santana's bare shoulder did look incredibly enticing in the moonlight, like coffee with extra cream. Quinn couldn't resist planting a tiny kiss on the soft, warm skin to check if it tasted as good as it looked - it definitely did, she decided with a satisfied smile, but it only served to make her want more. Santana remained deeply asleep, and Quinn wriggled onto her side so she could study her fiancée more easily. Santana seemed younger when she slept, and more innocent somehow. Quinn couldn't help but grin when she thought about how not-innocent the ex-cheerleader was. Truly, she had done some things to her with her tongue that evening that Quinn hadn't even considered possible. Just the memory of it made her shiver with delight, and the desire to wake Santana grew exponentially stronger.

With a featherlight touch, Quinn traced the outline of Santana's full lower lip with just the tip of her index finger. Santana sighed in her sleep but didn't stir. Quinn pouted and lay back against the pillow, willing herself to leave Santana alone to rest. She huffed out a frustrated breath and wriggled to try to get comfortable. The sheet was tangled around her legs and she kicked them free. In doing so, the sheet slipped down, revealing the swell of Santana's amazing breasts and Quinn couldn't stop herself from trailing her fingers over the newly exposed skin, delighting when she felt the brunette subconsciously arch into the touch. With the pad of her thumb, she stroked experimentally across Santana's nipple and Santana made a noise that was almost a whimper. Feeling bolder, Quinn covered Santana's breast with the palm of her hand and squeezed gently. Then she slid her hand over Santana's chest towards her shoulder, brushing away strands of impossibly silky hair to expose her neck. She nuzzled against the smooth, sensitive skin, suckling gently against Santana's pulse point as she returned her hand to her fiancée's breast.

"Q..." Santana's voice was a mixture of desire and exasperation as she awoke and wriggled under Quinn's ministrations. "I was sleeping."

"But this is so much more fun," Quinn murmured throatily into Santana's ear with a low chuckle.

"Mmm," Santana gasped appreciatively as Quinn's tongue flickered over her earlobe. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Four-thirty," Quinn said, trying (and failing) to sound apologetic. Santana laughed.

"You're incorrigible!" she announced, shaking her head. "You couldn't have waited another couple of hours? If I don't get my beauty sleep, I'm going to get wrinkles, and then I'll be repulsive and you won't be so quick to pounce on me in the middle of the night."

Quinn kissed the tip of Santana's nose sweetly.

"I'll love you even when you're old and grey and wrinkled," she promised earnestly and Santana laughed again. Quinn beamed at her. "So, anyway, now that we're both awake we may as well do something productive."

She trailed her hand down from Santana's breast, over her stomach, pausing briefly to circle her navel and loving the sharp intake of breath the simple touch elicited, before continuing downwards.

"You have a funny definition of productive!" Santana gasped, closing her eyes to savor the sensations Quinn was evoking within her.

Upon reaching her destination, Quinn stroked and fondled the sensitive bundle of nerves at Santana's center, teasing her with light, slow strokes until Santana begged for more. Happy to oblige, Quinn increased the speed and pressure of her touch, and the brunette was soon writhing and moaning under her ministrations.

Quinn closed her eyes and lost herself in the moment, unable to imagine anything ever being as beautiful or wonderful as making love with Santana. Velvety softness and impossibly burning heat overwhelmed her as she urged her fiancée towards the edge of bliss.

When Santana finally came undone beneath her, panting hard, her skin flushed and heated, Quinn couldn't help but be a little pleased with herself. She continued to trace gentle circles against Santana's sensitive inner thigh, until Santana had recovered enough to open her eyes and look at her.

"You're pretty good at that," mused Santana, taking in Quinn's self-assured grin.

"I am," Quinn agreed confidently and Santana laughed out loud. "So, am I forgiven for waking you up?" she wanted to know.

"I suppose so," Santana replied with mock-reluctance. "But since I'm wide awake now, I should probably make the most of it," she added with a smirk.

"Oh really?" Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

Santana captured her lips in a deep, intimate kiss that left Quinn breathless and more than a little turned on. With deliberate slowness, Santana moved to straddle Quinn, lowering herself down so that their bodies were pressed together in the most delicious way, sending shivers along Quinn's spine. Quinn couldn't resist bucking her hips suggestively and Santana groaned.

"God, Q, the things you do to me," she murmured as she kissed her way along Quinn's collar bone. "I love you so much."

Quinn melted at Santana's words. "I love you too, baby," she whispered as Santana continued to kiss her way down her body until she reached the apex of her thighs. That was her last coherent sentence before Santana's talented tongue reduced her to breathy moans and gasps, and cries of "more, please," and "yes, right there!" And as Santana added slender, stroking fingers into the mix, finding Quinn's most sensitive places with an expert touch, she started to come apart with a curse she almost never said out loud. "Oh holy fuck! Don't stop!"

Santana chuckled as she continued to stroke and guide Quinn through her release, and although Quinn's eyes were closed as she savored her orgasm, she knew that Santana would be wearing a self-satisfied smirk, knowing that she had been able to reduce Quinn to cursing and begging.

When their passion was finally sated, Quinn curled into Santana's embrace and closed her eyes contentedly as Santana stroked her hair, raking her nails gently over Quinn's scalp in the way she knew she loved.

"Are you tired now, baby?" Santana asked, stifling a yawn. Quinn shook her head in answer and Santana chuckled. "You're impossible," she chided gently. "You want me to sing to you?"

"Yes, please," Quinn said happily, burrowing even closer into Santana's arms. "But don't stop what you're doing."

"Your wish is my command," Santana confirmed, letting silky blonde strands fall through her fingers as she continued to play with Quinn's hair. Then she started to sing softly. "_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away_."

Quinn raised her head to gaze curiously at her fiancée. "What made you choose that song?" she asked, reaching out to caress Santana's cheek with the back of her hand. "It's so sad."

"No it isn't." Santana's brow furrowed in confusion. Quinn nodded.

"It's about lost love," she explained. "Don't you know the second verse?" Santana shook her head. Quinn sighed. "It goes like this. _The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamt I held you in my arms. When I awoke dear, I was mistaken, and so I hung my head and cried_."

"I like the first verse a lot better," Santana said quietly.

"Me too," Quinn agreed. "My Grandpa used to sing it to me when I was a little girl... the first verse, that is. He used to call me his sunshine." She smiled at the memory. "I think you would've liked him. He was pretty cool and he taught me a lot, like how to climb a tree, and how to do fractions. He used to give me books to read and then we'd talk about them - he would always show me a perspective I hadn't considered. I didn't see him that often though, I don't think he liked my dad very much."

"I like him just for that," Santana said softly. "Tell me more about him?"

"There's not much to tell," Quinn admitted. "He died when I was nine. He was just so smart, you know? He didn't talk much but he had this way about him so when he did say something everybody listened. I guess you'd call it charisma."

"Sounds a lot like someone else I know," Santana said with a chuckle, as she walked her fingers soothingly up and down Quinn's spine.

"I don't know about that," Quinn replied shyly. "But I do know I got my love of books from him." Despite all of her protestations that she wasn't tired, she suddenly found herself stifling a yawn. She twisted her head to check the time and groaned. "It's almost six. I have to get up in an hour. I can't believe that we stayed up practically all night."

"Like I had any say in the matter, " Santana grumbled teasingly, and Quinn hit her playfully.

"I didn't hear too much complaining," she reminded her, laughing lightly. "God, I'm going to fall asleep in class."

"So, blow it off and stay in bed with me?" Santana suggested hopefully.

"No." Quinn was forceful. "I'm not missing class and neither are you. You miss too many classes as it is." She stretched wearily, arching her back off the mattress and raising her arms above her head. "I can't remember the last time I stayed up all night and went to school the next day," she confessed with a groan.

"Do you remember cheerleading nationals, freshman year?" Santana asked, smiling fondly at the memory. "That was the first time I stayed up all night with you."

"Oklahoma, right?" Quinn frowned as her sleep-deprived brain tried to recall the experience. "I seem to recall Coach Sylvester yelling at us through her megaphone at three a.m. because you and Brittany wouldn't stop talking and go to sleep... And she made the hotel turn off the hot water to our rooms so we'd all have to take cold showers because she was afraid we'd be sluggish at the competition."

"Hey, you weren't exactly innocent either when it came to the talking," Santana reminded her. "Britt crashed about five in the end but you and I snuck up to the roof to watch the sun rise." She fingered a strand of Quinn's hair, twisting it around her finger absently. "That was the first time I truly realized how beautiful you were. When the sunlight hit you, you just... glowed, and I remember thinking that you looked like a goddess. And of course that scared the crap out of me because up until that point Britt had been the only girl I was attracted to, and I'd been doing a pretty good job of fooling myself into thinking that I was straight." She huffed out a derisive breath. "After that morning, it was harder to fool myself... I kind of hated you for it."

"So that's why you were such a bitch to me," whispered Quinn thoughtfully and Santana shrugged.

"Partly," she confirmed. "But partly it was because you were so self-righteous, and you thought you were better than everyone else, partly it was because you _were_ better than everyone else, and partly it was just 'cos I was a heinous bitch." Both girls laughed, and Quinn snuggled closer to her fiancée.

"Well, I forgive you," she said softly. "You've more than made it up to me since." She sighed sadly. "I can't believe you were attracted to me that far back and I never even knew it... We wasted so much time being repressed."

"Do you remember the first time you knew you were attracted to me?" Santana asked curiously. Quinn lifted her head to gaze into Santana's eyes. It was still dark outside but the city was beginning to awaken and shafts of artificial light trickled through the curtains. Quinn chewed her lower lip as Santana's question stirred a fresh flood of memories, and taking a deep breath she began to tell her story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Perfect**

_It was her first day at William McKinley High School and Quinn had gotten up extra early that morning to make sure her appearance was pristine. She brushed her honey blonde hair until it shone like glass and then she tied it back into an immaculate ponytail, taking great care to ensure that not a single strand was out of place. The Proactiv her dermatologist had prescribed had done wonders for her acne, and her skin was flawless as she applied just a little blush and lip gloss, then curled her eyelashes and added a coat of mascara. Her new contact lenses helped a lot - she could actually see what she was doing. She inspected her nose carefully and critically to ensure that any trace of the bruises resulting from her rhinoplasty that summer were healed. There'd been no way she was starting high school anything less than perfect. Middle school had been hell, but Quinn was determined she was going to rule the halls of McKinley High. Everyone would know her name - boys would want to date her, and girls would want to be her._

_She had her pick of dresses from her new size two wardrobe (having finally reached her goal weight at the start of the summer), and for her first day of high school she'd chosen a pale yellow tea dress with a lace trim, and a pretty white cardigan. She teamed it with a pair of gold ballet pumps, knowing that she was a little tall for her age and not wanting to accentuate anything that would make her seem different in a bad way - she knew only too well how cruel kids could be if they sensed even a single flaw._

_"But you're not Lucy Caboosey any more," she told her reflection in the mirror, as she affixed her new diamond earrings to her earlobes and fastened her gold cross around her slender neck. "You're _Quinn_ Fabray now, and you're going to be on top. You're going to get on the cheerleading squad, and you're going to date a boy on the football team, and you're going to be prom queen. You're going to be perfect." She was a little nervous that classes had already been underway for a week, but she had been adamant that she wouldn't start school until her nose was completely healed, and that had taken a little longer than expected. Her mom had called the school and told them she had the flu and they'd told her to take all the time she needed._

_She was still scared that a lot of the other kids would've gone to the same elementary and middle schools and allegiances would already have been formed, but she'd watched from the outside long enough to know that confidence was the key. If you held your head high and acted like you were in control, then people would flock to you like moths to a flame. No one would ever know the miserable friendless little girl she used to be. That was the one saving grace of being a transfer student - the ability to make a fresh start - and Quinn had no intention of wasting the opportunity. Now if only she truly felt confident... then it would have been easy. Tryouts for cheerleading were taking place that afternoon so Quinn had run out of time. She couldn't hide out at home any longer. It was opening night and the curtain was about to rise. She _had_ to make this work._

_She needn't have worried. Her classmates were intrigued by their new pretty, blonde, softly spoken classmate with the perfect nose and dazzling __smile - the three years of orthodontic work having finally paid off - and__ they accepted her without question. She sat with a couple of the football players at lunch and she quickly came to realize that her mom had been right when she'd told her that boys were easy to control. A smile and a light hand on the impossibly huge, dark haired boy's forearm as she gazed at him coquettishly from beneath her eyelashes was all it took before he was offering to pay for her lunch, and when she had 'accidentally' brushed up against the boy with the stupid mohawk in the queue, he'd been falling over himself to carry her tray. For the first time in her fourteen years, Quinn felt a sense of power... and she liked it a lot._

_As she stood in the gym surrounded by her competition for the cheerleading squad after her first day of classes, Quinn appraised each of the other girls critically. Her mom always looked for flaws in others, and she was always ready to exploit any weaknesses she found. If Quinn wanted to be number one, she knew she'd have to learn to do the same. One girl was a little chubby, another seemed hopelessly uncoordinated as she walked - Quinn had no idea how she would make it through a complicated gymnastic routine. The curly haired girl was wearing a shirt with a garish picture of a kitten, and looked nervous enough to throw up any second. There was a red head who was tugging at her gym shorts, trying to cover the cellulite on her thighs, and two blonde girls were desperately trying to learn the tryout routine in a corner of the gym - one of them kept stepping left when she should be going right, and her friend was getting more and more exasperated._

_Then, there were the current Cheerios. Immaculate, graceful, beautiful girls who moved fluidly and elegantly across the floor as they practised. The coach was making them all try out again too. It seemed no one was assured a spot on the squad. Quinn wanted to be one of them, in their pristine red, black, and white uniforms more than she'd ever wanted anything else in her whole life._

_The first girl was called to the front to try out and Quinn watched curiously as the girl went through a series of flips, jumps, and complicated footwork, her Cheerios skirt flaring as she twirled. When she finished she looked expectantly at the coach, who was looking bored as she lifted a megaphone to her mouth._

_"I've seen toddlers dance better!" yelled the coach and Quinn tried not to flinch at the harshness of her tone. "That's three minutes of my life I'll never get back." The cheerleader's lip trembled as she tried to fight back tears. Quinn instantly knew that the girl had made a fatal mistake by showing her weakness. "You think this is hard?" bellowed the coach through her megaphone. "I'm living with chronic fatigue syndrome - that's hard."_

_The girl ran off to be consoled by her friends but Quinn didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for her. She'd probably spent her summer at the mall with her friends eating junk food and going to the movies, whilst Quinn had been home practising every day until her muscles had ached and eating nothing but lettuce leaves and __carrot sticks. She detested the carrot sticks most of all, and the day she'd finally reached her goal weight, she'd promised herself that she'd never eat another carrot ever again._

_Over the next hour, the large crowd of girls were whittled down until there were only a handful left. Quinn had noticed that the coach never gave any words of praise, and most of the girls had been on the receiving end of at least one acerbic barb. When the coach found nothing to criticize, she would simply purse her lips and remain silent. None of the new girls had been that lucky, however, and three of the current Cheerios had also been torn to shreds._

_"Santana Lopez," drawled Coach Sylvester into her megaphone, and Quinn watched as a stunning Latina sashayed her way to the front of the room. Her body language quite clearly stated an I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude and Quinn had never seen anyone with so much self-confidence. She suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach and she wriggled uncomfortably in her seat on the bleachers. The way Santana moved was fascinating, almost feline-like, and Quinn knew instinctively that this girl would be true competition. She sat up straighter to ensure she wouldn't miss a second of the brunette's tryout. As Santana began her routine, Quinn found her eyes drawn to the Latina's lithe, shapely figure and she was surprised when her pulse began to quicken and her palms grew clammy. Santana was more than good, she was amazing... and the way she moved was intoxicating._

_Feeling her cheeks flush, Quinn began to panic internally, wondering why Santana was having such an effect on her. It was jealousy, that had to be it, she thought... but she'd been jealous many times before and it had never manifested in such an intensely physiological way. Then, Santana finished with a cartwheel, and without waiting for the coach's critique, she glided off and straight into the arms of a waiting blonde girl who squealed and hugged her excitedly. Quinn felt an irrational flood of anger as she watched the tall blonde embrace Santana. Her face burned, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the edge of the bleachers. Her breathing was shallow and irregular... Now this was jealousy, she realized, but then a new, horrifying thought hit her. She was jealous, but not because of how good Santana's routine had been (she knew hers would be better) - she was jealous because she wanted to be the one Santana was hugging. __She wanted to know what it would feel like to have the brunette in her arms, their bodies pressed intimately against each other. When the blonde girl planted a chaste, congratulatory kiss on Santana's lips, Quinn imagined she was in her place, and a rush of electricity shot through her whole body._

_That single thought was more terrifying than anything Quinn had ever experienced. This was not her plan. She couldn't be attracted to another girl, not even for a second. She was going to be prom queen and head cheerleader and make her parents proud of her. She was going to be perfect - there was no other choice for her - she'd worked too hard already._

_And so, Quinn forced those feelings deep down inside and locked them away where they couldn't hurt her. She got up when her name was called and performed her routine with her whole heart and soul, and she was sure she spotted a tiny smile play at Coach Sylvester's lips as the austere woman waved her off at the end of the tryout. By the time the list of successful girls was posted at the end of the week and Quinn read her name right above Santana's, she'd almost convinced herself that her attraction to the brunette was nothing more than recognizing and appreciating a potential rival for the coveted number one position... Almost._

Quinn finished relaying her story to her stunned fiancée with a wry smile.

"So I guess you could say it was love at first sight," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. Her voice was hoarse from so much talking, but she was glad she'd finally told Santana the true extent of her feelings. "I didn't want to admit it, and it wasn't until Mr Schue's wedding that I was willing to say screw it and just go for what I wanted, but it was always there deep down... sometimes very deep down," she added, thinking of all the times she'd wanted to kill Santana during high school. She'd loved her, but she'd hated her too back then. "We were both pretty screwed up, huh?"

Santana chuckled. "We were," she agreed. "But you're mine now, Lucy Q, and I'm never going to let you go." She took Quinn's hand and kissed her ring finger, right above the spot where her engagement diamond sparkled. Quinn smiled contentedly and burrowed into Santana's shoulder.

"Good," she said with a yawn, her voice muffled by Santana's hair, "because it's taken us way too long to get here, and I don't want us to waste another minute." She closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax, safe and warm in her fiancee's arms.

A loud, discordant beeping drew her out of her comfortable haze as her alarm clock rudely announced that it was time to get up. Without moving from Santana's embrace, Quinn reached blindly behind herself to shut it off, succeeding on her third attempt.

"I guess I could afford to miss a day of classes," she mused sleepily, feeling Santana's body shake with silent laughter, "and one more day of missed classes probably won't do you any more harm either." Santana laughed out loud at the last comment.

"Go to sleep, Q," she murmured, and this time Quinn happily complied.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Confessions and Revelations**

Quinn looked up with a start as Santana's chemistry book hit the wall beside her head and landed in a crumpled mess on the floor. It was Sunday evening and there were only a few days of classes left before Thanksgiving, but it seemed neither girl's professors had gotten that memo and they were both inundated with homework. Being the conscientious student that she was, Quinn had wanted to start her assignments on Saturday, but Santana's methods of distraction had proven themselves to be very effective, and consequently the girls were still studying at nine p.m. on Sunday night. Quinn was sitting at her desk, engrossed in the text she was reading about Stanislavsky, whilst Santana had been moving restlessly from place to place - first the couch, then the chair by the window, then jumping up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, before ending up sitting Indian style on the bed.

"What was that for?" Quinn asked, frowning at Santana over the rims of her glasses as the brunette fell back against the pillows with a melodramatic sigh.

"Chemistry sucks," Santana muttered darkly, her voice muffled by the arm she'd flung across her face. Quinn didn't respond. She was used to Santana's histrionics about her school work by now, and she hadn't found encouragement, platitudes, or lectures to be effective counter arguments. It was usually best to let Santana complain for a bit, then she'd get it out of her system... for a while at least. Lately, these outbursts were happening more and more frequently, and Quinn was beginning to get a little concerned. "I mean, when am I ever going to need to know this stuff?" Santana grumbled, waving a dismissive arm in the direction of her ruined book. "When does knowing what ketones or polymers are ever come in useful? Who cares what the chemical formula for benzene is? And, what the hell is a covalent bond?"

Despite her resolve to stay out of it, Quinn couldn't stand to see Santana so stressed. She closed her laptop, set aside her book, and moved to sit on the bed beside her anguished fiancée.

"You've only got one more semester after this and then you'll be finished with all your basic requirements," she reminded Santana, stroking her arm soothingly. "It gets better, sweetie, I promise."

"That's easy for you to say," Santana huffed, unwilling to be placated.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Santana moved the hand that was covering her face and opened one eye to glare at her sulkily. "I'm not smart like you, Q," she admitted with a sigh. "It all comes so easily to you but none of this stuff makes any sense to me."

"Is that what you think?" Quinn asked in surprise. "San, I don't find it easy, it's a lot of work and sometimes it's really overwhelming, but it's a means to an end. And you are smart... I know you better than anyone, and I know you can do anything you put your mind to. You just have to want it badly enough."

"But you enjoy studying," Santana said flatly. "You love learning new things, you can't deny that. I really don't. I just want to be out in the real world, making a difference. I'm starting to think that college was a mistake."

Quinn was horrified by Santana's admission and she remained silent whilst she tried to process the revelation. Finally she sighed.

"San, I don't want you to be unhappy," she said finally. "Really, I don't. But you've come too far to just give up on your education now. I'll help you in any way I can - I'll study with you, quiz you, tutor you... whatever you need. I'll even dust off my Cheerios uniform and be your own personal cheerleader if you think it'll help." The last comment forced a tiny smile out of Santana and Quinn felt the knot of anxiety in her stomach loosen slightly. She leant over and kissed Santana softly on the lips. "Just please don't ever think that you're not smart, baby?" she whispered against Santana's mouth as the brunette's fingers threaded through her hair to hold her in place.

They kissed again, slowly and tenderly, taking it in turns to take charge, tongues dancing and retreating in each other's mouths. Santana's hands were waking up Quinn's body delightfully and as Santana slid her fingers under her shirt, sending delicious shivers coursing through her, she was beginning to reach the point of no return. Much as she wanted to spend the rest of the night lost in her beautiful fiancée, Quinn really did have to study. She pulled back reluctantly, causing Santana to whine and pout.

"I'll make you a deal, baby," Quinn said softly. "I'll spend an hour helping you with your chem homework, then you can go take a nice, long, hot bath..." as she spoke she walked her fingers over the exposed skin of Santana's abdomen, where her shirt didn't quite meet her shorts, "...whilst I finish up my assignment, and then I'll give you a lovely, relaxing massage to help get rid of some of your tension."

Santana chuckled. "I like everything after the first part," she said, rolling her eyes, "but I don't suppose I'm going to be able to talk you into skipping it, so okay, you've got a deal." Wearily, she dragged herself off the bed and crossed the room to retrieve the offending chemistry book.

Quinn busied herself scanning over Santana's assignment, trying to encourage her brain to remember long forgotten organic chemistry classes. She was so engrossed that she didn't feel the mattress dip as Santana returned. To get her attention, Santana plucked Quinn's glasses off her face playfully.

"Maybe these'll make me smarter," she teased, putting the frames on and pushing them up the bridge of her nose. She looked ridiculously sexy and Quinn briefly wondered if she could convince Santana to wear them for a little role play sometime. Forcing her desire to one side, and trying her best to look exasperated, Quinn retrieved her glasses and put them back on. Santana blinked several times as her vision readjusted. "Whoa, Q, those are strong," she said with a grin. "I had no idea your eyesight was so bad!"

Quinn snatched the book from Santana's hands and began to flip to the relevant section. "Not a good idea to insult the tutor, " she warned, frowning at Santana from beneath her eyelashes.

"Are you going to punish me?" Santana asked hopefully, and Quinn groaned audibly at the sudden rush of heat that flooded her body. It was going to be a long night.

She took a deep breath and forced her base desires to one side with considerable difficulty.

"Okay, let's start with polymers..."

Quinn proved to be quite an effective tutor over the next hour. Of course, she couldn't help but wonder if her teaching methods were responsible, or if it was simply down to the fact that Santana was more apt to pay attention to her rather than a crusty, old professor. Once Santana understood the concepts, she was able to complete her assignment without too much difficulty. Quinn offered her fiancée effusive praise, determined to disabuse her of the notion that she simply wasn't smart enough.

Finally, Santana scribbled down her answer to the last question, and slammed the book shut in relief. Under Quinn's orders, she headed off to take a bath while Quinn worked on her method acting paper. As frequently happened when she was enjoying her work, Quinn blocked out everything else. She didn't even hear the phone ringing until Santana bellowed at her from the bathroom.

Flinging herself across the couch, she managed to get to the handset just as the answering machine was kicking in. She hit the button to turn it off and brought the handset to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Quinnie, sweetheart, it's Mom," trilled her mother's voice through the earpiece. Quinn groaned inwardly and looked at the clock. It was almost ten thirty.

"I know it's you, Mom," she said drily. "I recognize your voice. It's after ten, kind of late to be calling. How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine darling," her mom said dismissively. "I'm just calling to check that you're still coming home to Lima for Thanksgiving."

Quinn fell back against the cushions and propped her feet up on the arm of the couch before responding.

"Of course we're still coming home," she said, trying not to sound exasperated. "We booked our flights already - I emailed you all the details last week."

"I know, but I just thought I'd check that you hadn't changed your minds." Her mother sounded contrite and Quinn felt a rush of guilt. Her mom really had been trying since Quinn had come out to her about her sexuality and her relationship with Santana in the spring.

"We're not going to change our minds, Mom," Quinn assured her. "We're looking forward to seeing you."

"Oh." Her mom sounded surprised and pleased. "Well, of course I'm looking forward to seeing you too," she offered. "Both of you."

Quinn smiled at her mother's thought to include Santana. "Thank you," she said softly.

"I hate that you're not going to be staying at the house though," Judy admitted. "I made up your bed for you in case you change your mind." As she spoke, Santana came out of the bathroom, her skin pink from the hot bath, wearing the tiniest shorts Quinn had ever seen, and a flimsy camisole that left little to the imagination.

Quinn's eyes traveled over her fiancée's figure appraisingly, as Santana lifted Quinn's legs so she could join her on the couch, placing Quinn's feet in her lap.

"It's my mom," Quinn whispered to Santana, her hand over the mouthpiece. Santana smiled sympathetically as Quinn returned the phone to her ear. "Mom, we talked about this," she said with a sigh. "Santana and I want to be together so we're going to stay at the Lopezes." Santana busied herself with removing Quinn's socks and began rubbing her feet soothingly as Quinn closed her eyes and savored the sensation.

"Well, I... If you wanted to... You could both stay with me?" stammered Judy uncertainly. Quinn almost dropped the phone in shock. Her eyes flew open and Santana looked at her questioningly.

"What's up?" she whispered.

"You'd let Santana and me stay in my old room?" she asked wonderingly. "Together? In the same bed?" At her words, Santana's brow furrowed into an equally surprised expression. "You'd be comfortable with that?" Quinn demanded.

"You're my daughter, Quinn," Judy said, dropping her usual breezy tone. "I love you. I told you I'd try to understand this... relationship... between you and Santana, and I meant it. I'm not as naive as you seem to think. You're already living together, in an apartment I'm currently paying for," she continued, her haughty Fabray attitude resurfacing for a moment, "so I don't see the point in forcing Santana to sleep in the guest room. I'd like you to give it some thought before you answer, but the offer is there."

"Um, I'll discuss it with Santana and let you know," Quinn agreed hesitantly as Santana raised a questioning eyebrow and continued to massage her feet. "I'll call you in a day or two, okay?"

She and her mother said their goodbyes and ended the call. Quinn handed the phone to Santana, who placed it back into its cradle on the end table. Santana continued to silently rub the tension out of Quinn's instep whilst she waited for Quinn to process what had just happened.

"You're _really_ good at that," Quinn said appreciatively, flexing her toes and stretching. She allowed Santana to keep massaging for several beats before speaking again. "My mom wants us to stay with her when we go back to Lima," she explained finally.

Santana smiled enigmatically. "So I gathered," she said softly. "What do you want to do?"

Quinn groaned loudly.

"I don't know," she admitted with a sigh. "I want to stay in a hotel so we can escape from everyone if we need to, but financially that's not an option and it'd just piss off our parents. Your parents are a lot more comfortable with the idea of us than my mom is but..." She broke off and shook her head.

"You want to give your mom a chance," Santana finished for her. Quinn studied her fiancee's expression carefully before nodding.

"Am I crazy?" she asked. "I mean, she's let me down so many times, am I setting myself up for another fall?"

"I don't know," Santana said thoughtfully. Her hands left Quinn's foot and began to slowly stroke up and down her right calf, causing Quinn to hum appreciatively. "But your mom said she was going to try, and so far she's been true to her word." She shrugged. "It's your decision, baby, and I'll support you whatever... And if you do fall, you know I'll be here to catch you. "

Quinn smiled affectionately at Santana.

"I love you so much," she said softly.

"Back at ya," murmured Santana, her fingers now caressing Quinn's thigh. Quinn caught hold of them and held them still, stroking her thumbs over the back of Santana's hands.

"I believe I'm the one who should be massaging you," she giggled suggestively. "I told you if you were a good girl and you did all of your homework, I'd reward you with a massage, remember?"

Santana suddenly launched herself at Quinn, landing on top of her and pinning her to the cushions as she fused their mouths together hungrily.

"Maybe we could massage each other?" Santana suggested breathlessly between kisses. She took Quinn's hand and placed it over her shorts at the apex of her thighs, then placed her own palm flat on Quinn's stomach and began to ease it below the waistband of her pajamas. Quinn felt a rush of arousal and she pressed her lips over Santana's once more, licking at Santana's bottom lip to request entrance to her mouth. Santana acquiesced eagerly.

"Bed?" panted Quinn as Santana kissed her way along her jawline, nipping gently as she went. Santana shook her head.

"Uh uh," she mumbled against Quinn's pulse point. "Right here." And with that, she dove her fingers between Quinn's thighs and all rational thoughts left Quinn's mind.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's note: thank you so much to everyone who's followed, favorited, or reviewed this story so far - I'm really grateful :-) Hope you all enjoy this chapter...**_

**Chapter Six: Challenges**

"What time is it?" Quinn panted as she fell back against the mattress breathing hard. A sheen of sweat covered her body and she brushed her damp hair out of her eyes.

"I think the words you were looking for were 'thank you, Santana, for that amazing orgasm'," huffed Santana, pretending to be offended. Quinn rolled her eyes before turning over to look at her alarm clock. It was Wednesday morning and their flight back to Lima was scheduled for two thirty that afternoon. That meant the girls had to leave the apartment by eleven fifteen at the latest, and although Quinn's bag had been neatly packed the night before, Santana's suitcase lay open and half empty in the middle of the floor.

It's after nine," Quinn groaned. "We need to get up. I need to take a shower and you still need to pack." She tried to sit up but suddenly Santana was on top of her, pinning her to the bed, and despite the fact that her body was still cooling down after their earlier activities, Quinn felt another rush of desire. Her hips bucked against Santana's thighs of their own volition and she pulled Santana down into a wet, messy kiss, tangling her fingers in Santana's long, silky hair to hold her in place.

"Hey you," Santana chuckled, giving her a wolfish grin when they finally came up for air.

"Hi," Quinn said softly. Santana rolled her hips against Quinn and a shiver of pleasure danced down her spine. "Baby, we can't," she whined. "We'll miss the flight."

"But I want you." Santana was stubborn and determined as her hand palmed Quinn's breast, stroking her thumb over a hard nipple and causing Quinn to bite down hard on her lower lip. "We won't get another chance to do this for three days." They'd agreed that, although they'd be sharing a bed at Quinn's mom's house, they would refrain from any and all sexual activity. It wasn't a restriction Judy had imposed, but one of their own choice. They didn't want to risk being overheard - that would be excruciatingly awful and embarrassing for all of them.

"We'll find a way," Quinn said weakly, throwing their decision aside. "We'll just have to be quiet, that's all."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "You think you can be quiet?" she asked disbelievingly. To prove her point she rolled her hips again and bent her head to swipe her tongue across Quinn's aroused nipple. Quinn let out an audible moan and Santana smiled smugly. "See," she insisted, before suckling hard against the sensitive nub.

Quinn tried very hard to glare at her fiancée, but it was near impossible when Santana was causing waves of bliss to course through her body.

"At least come and take a shower with me?" Quinn begged. "Otherwise, we'll never make it to the airport on time."

Santana considered her proposal carefully as her hands stroked up and down Quinn's sides.

"I can work with that," she decided, leaping energetically out of bed and pulling Quinn with her in the direction of the bathroom.

They made it to the airport on time for their flight, albeit with still damp hair and Quinn worrying that she'd left the toaster plugged in. Santana had to convince her that even if she had, it was unlikely to spontaneously combust and burn down the apartment block within the next three days before Quinn would agree to get in the line for security. Then, just before they were due to board the plane, Santana announced that she couldn't remember if she'd packed any underwear or not and it took all of Quinn's willpower not to turn around and go home.

"I was just joking," Santana was still insisting to her highly strung fiancée as they fastened their seat belts. "I was trying to calm you down."

"Well, you have a strange way of going about it," Quinn snapped, and then instantly regretted her harshness. She clasped Santana's hand in hers and rested her head against the brunette's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I don't mean to be a bitch, I'm just..." She broke off and shrugged.

"Nervous?" Santana supplied, and Quinn nodded. "It's okay, I do understand, you know. It's a big deal, us staying with your mom. I want it to work out, and I want her to be happy for us when we tell her about the engagement." She studied their hands which were still clasped loosely in Quinn's lap, then threaded their fingers together and ran her thumb over Quinn's engagement ring.

"We haven't talked about the logistics of telling my mom," Quinn said softly. "I mean, do you think we should tell her straight away, or should we wait? Maybe tell her at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow?"

"It's your call," Santana told her with a rueful smile. "You know her better than anyone, so only you can make that decision. Whatever you decide is fine by me."

Quinn was quiet for a long time, lost in her own thoughts and staring out of the window as the plane taxied down the runway and took off. It was only when the 'fasten seat belts' sign went off that she tore her gaze away from the fluffy clouds below them, unclicked her seat belt, and curled her body against Santana's side. She breathed in the familiar, calming scent of her fiancée as Santana wrapped a protective arm around her.

"What did you decide?" Santana prodded gently.

Quinn bit down thoughtfully on her lower lip.

"I think we should wait until tomorrow," she said, studying Santana's response carefully in case the brunette thought she was making a bad choice, but Santana remained impassive. "I don't think it's fair to spring it on her the second we walk through the front door, and we'll only be home for a couple of hours before we go to dinner with your parents."

"Okay," Santana told her, reaching out a hand to stroke Quinn's cheek. "We'll tell her tomorrow."

"I can't help but feel bad that I want to tell your parents first," Quinn confessed, still chewing nervously on her lip. Santana ran her thumb across Quinn's mouth to stop her from abusing it any further.

"Why?" she asked, her brow furrowing with confusion.

"I know they'll be happy for us," Quinn explained with a soft sigh. "I don't know how my mom's going to take it, and I feel like if we tell her first and it goes badly then it will kind of taint us telling your parents. It's dumb, I know."

"It's not dumb," Santana replied earnestly. "Q, honestly, I've been freaking out about how your mom will react since we decided to go back to Lima for Thanksgiving." She shook her head. "Actually, no, it goes back way longer," she admitted, "to when I first knew I wanted to ask you to marry me. I don't want to be the reason you lose your mom in your life. I know she's come a long way towards accepting us, but I'm worried that we're pushing her a step too far."

"No!" exclaimed Quinn vehemently, pulling back slightly from Santana's embrace so that she could meet her gaze more easily. "We're not going to make apologies or hide who we are to protect her. She either accepts that I love you and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, or she loses me for good. I hope that she makes the right choice but I'm prepared if she doesn't."

Santana beamed at her and licked her lips, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Quinn. Then, she leaned forward and brushed Quinn's hair back so that she could bring her lips to Quinn's ear.

"I love it when you get all forceful on me," she whispered throatily. "It _really_ turns me on... The things I want to do to you right now... But I think we've established that you're incapable of keeping quiet, so you'll just have to wait until we get back to New York." Quinn felt her cheeks color and start to burn. She was suddenly painfully aroused, and she knew she'd have no opportunity to do anything about it for quite some time. She repeated Santana's movements so that she could hiss into the brunette's ear in return.

"You're going to pay for that!"

Santana chuckled but remained calm and unruffled.

"I'll look forward to it," she said nonchalantly. Quinn glared at her and pulled back huffily to detangle herself from Santana and sit back in her own seat. She busied herself with fishing her iPod out of her bag and inserting her earbuds whilst studiously avoiding Santana's gaze. Her fiancée shook with silent laughter, a smug smile playing at her lips. Quinn continued to ignore her until Santana had calmed down.

After a while, she felt Santana shift uncomfortably in the seat next to her, and reach out to take her hand. Quinn removed her earbuds expectantly.

"I'm sorry," Santana said gently. "I was just teasing, and you look so cute when you get all hot and bothered. I didn't mean to make you mad."

Quinn gazed at her, stony faced, whilst Santana looked more and more worried. Eventually, she couldn't keep it up any longer and she burst into a fit of giggles that attracted curious attention from a few of their fellow passengers.

"I told you I'd make you pay," she said lightly, and Santana's face ran through a myriad of emotions as she realized Quinn had been playing her.

"I hate you so much, Quinn Fabray!" she whispered, her dark eyes flashing but a forgiving smile on her face as she drew her fiancée close and kissed her, open-mouthed.

"I love you too," Quinn murmured against her lips, before wriggling back into the familiar comfort of the brunette's embrace where she remained for the rest of the flight.

As the plane made its final descent, Quinn reluctantly removed her engagement ring and placed it carefully back into its box. It hurt her to do so, as it was the first time she'd taken it off her finger since Santana had placed it there. Her hand looked wrong without it.

Santana guessed why Quinn suddenly looked so miserable, and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It's only temporary," she reminded her. "Next time I put it on your finger, it's for good." Quinn felt a little better at Santana's words but she still felt like a part of her was missing. Not for the first time, she wondered about getting Santana an engagement ring too. Her ring felt like a symbol of Santana's love, and she hated being without it. She wanted Santana to have her own token of the love they shared, but she wanted to make it a special experience, and so far every idea she'd thought of seemed unworthy of her fiancée. She wasn't unduly worried, she knew inspiration would hit her at some point, but she didn't want to wait too long - she wanted to show Santana exactly how much she loved her.

The plane had landed and taxied to the gate whilst Quinn was lost in her own thoughts. She only snapped out of her reverie when she felt Santana shaking her by the shoulder, and she shook her head to clear it.

"Earth to Quinn," Santana was saying, a mixture of amusement and exasperation coloring her features. "Come in, Quinn."

"When did we land?" Quinn asked absently and Santana laughed.

"Where do you go when you do that?" she asked with a low chuckle. "Sometimes I think it must be nice to live in Quinn-land."

"Sometimes," Quinn agreed, and Santana laughed harder, only stopping when Quinn handed her her flight bag and urged her to move with a non too gentle shove.

They made it through baggage reclaim quickly, and hand-in-hand walked towards the meeting place where they'd agreed Judy would wait for them. As they rounded the corner, Quinn caught sight of her mother, fifty feet away and waving excitedly. She couldn't help but groan inwardly.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to face a firing squad?" she asked Santana out of the corner of her mouth. Santana just smiled and squeezed her hand sympathetically in response. Quinn squeezed back, grateful for the support. She knew that, with Santana by her side, she could face anything.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's note: There was a lot to cram into this chapter so it's almost twice as long as usual! It's Valentine's Day (only just, but it is after midnight here) so happy Valentine's Day to you all (and happy birthday to me!) There's not a huge amount of romance in this chapter but that's coming soon... For now, I hope you enjoy chapter seven... Let me know what you think, feedback is always gratefully received...**_

**Chapter Seven: Thankful**

As Judy pulled her Mercedes into the driveway of the home where Quinn had spent the majority of her teenage years and turned off the ignition, Quinn couldn't help but experience a shudder of anticipation. She really hated that house. Some of the worst events of her life had taken place there, and she didn't have a lot of good family memories to balance them.

The closer they'd got to Lima, the quieter and more withdrawn Quinn had become. Both Judy and Santana were used to Quinn's taciturn nature so neither of them had paid any attention, but instead they'd kept up a steady stream of small talk that was giving Quinn a headache.

By the time they were unloading their bags from the trunk, Santana had obviously had enough of Quinn's attitude. Judy had taken their cabin baggage into the house, and Quinn started to follow her when Santana grabbed her wrist and pulled her aside.

"Q, I love you but you're driving me crazy," she hissed. "I'm running out of things to say to your mom so you need to snap out of your coma and help me out."

"I'm sorry," Quinn said immediately. "God, I hate being back here, it makes me feel fifteen again. I wish we'd invited my mom up to New York instead."

Santana drew her into a comforting embrace, and pressed their foreheads together. Quinn instantly felt the tension ebb from her muscles and she lifted her chin so that her lips brushed softly against Santana's. She threaded her fingers through Santana's and her fiancée gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Better?" Santana murmured when they parted. Quinn nodded, but Santana didn't quite seem convinced. "If you want to do this another way, tell our families, I mean," she said hesitantly, "it's okay, Q. We don't have to do this now."

Quinn shook her head vehemently.

"No, I want to do this, I love you so much, San, and I want to share that with our families. I don't want to wait." She took a deep breath and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. "We're sticking to the plan - we'll tell your parents at dinner tonight, and we'll tell my mom tomorrow." She grinned at her fiancée. "Come on, we'd better go in before my mom comes looking for us, I'm good now... No more comas, I promise." Hand in hand, she led Santana towards the house.

By the time they'd unpacked and freshened up, it was almost time to meet Santana's parents for dinner.

"Do I look okay?" Quinn asked nervously as she studied her appearance in the mirror, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles in her olive green dress as Santana wrapped her arms around her from behind and kissed the crook of her neck.

"You look amazing," Santana assured her with a low chuckle. "It's just dinner with my parents though, so I don't know why you're so worried. We already know they love you."

Quinn slid her hands over Santana's and met her fiancee's gaze in the mirror.

"I just want to make a good impression," she said softly. "They're not just my girlfriend's parents anymore, they're my future in-laws. Are you sure this dress is okay? Should I wear the blue one instead?"

Santana groaned loudly and bumped her head deliberately into the back of Quinn's shoulder.

"Q, the dress is fine, please just try to relax." A wolfish grin spread over her features as she spoke. "Or I may have to resort to the same tactics I employed when you were nervous about having dinner with my parents for the first time as my girlfriend."

Quinn felt a rush of heat across her chest and neck as she remembered that night eleven months earlier, Santana's face buried between her thighs as her talented tongue stroked away all of Quinn's nerves.

"I thought you said I wouldn't be able to keep quiet," Quinn reminded her, trying to sound unaffected, but her words came tumbling out in a rush of air that betrayed her arousal. Santana's hands moved up to cup her breasts through the fabric of her dress and Quinn stifled a groan.

"Hm, we may have to gag you," Santana said thoughtfully, her face lighting up as she noticed Quinn's eyes widen.

Quinn giggled nervously. "Do you really want to gag me?" she whispered, fixing her eyes on Santana's reflection.

Santana shook her head. "No, I like the sounds you make too much... but there are some other things I'd like us to try." Quinn couldn't help but notice Santana's cheeks color as she spoke, and she licked her lips subconsciously before replying.

"Like what?" she wanted to know. Santana squirmed at her back.

"You really want to have this conversation here, in your old bedroom at your mom's house?" she asked. "She could be right outside the door."

Quinn turned in Santana's arms so that she was face to face with the brunette.

"My mom doesn't hang around outside my bedroom door," she murmured, planting a soft kiss against Santana's lips. "Like what?" she repeated.

"Well... Ever since you mentioned your Cheerios uniform, I've kind of been thinking..." Santana whispered before trailing off.

"You want me to wear it for you?" Quinn chuckled. "Well, I'm sure that can be arranged." She could only imagine what Sue Sylvester would say if she knew they were even talking about debasing a Cheerios uniform in such a way, but she was more than happy to oblige Santana's request. "Anything else?" she asked gently, nipping at Santana's lower lip with her teeth.

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now," Santana told her, and Quinn could feel her discomfort through their embrace.

"Okay," she acquiesced. "But once we're back in New York, no more excuses, I want us to be able to talk about anything."

"I promise," agreed Santana, brushing her lips lightly over Quinn's.

Less than five seconds later, Quinn's mom knocked on the door to tell them the taxi had arrived to take them to dinner, and Santana jumped away from Quinn as though she'd been burned. Quinn couldn't help but enjoy seeing Santana anxious for once, although she had no desire to be caught by her mom either. She was still laughing to herself as they headed out of the door to share their news with the Lopezes.

As Santana had predicted, her parents were graciously supportive about their engagement. Quinn showed them her ring eagerly, and Santana's mom had tears in her eyes as she hugged her future daughter-in-law. Santana's father ordered champagne and then proceeded to tease his daughter by suggesting she couldn't drink any as her twenty-first birthday was still three and a half months away. Santana was still pouting and glaring at her father as she sipped her champagne ten minutes later.

"Are you sure you know what you're letting yourself into?" he chuckled at Quinn, as Santana frowned at him. "The Lopez women are pretty feisty!" His comments earned him a slap on the arm from his wife as Quinn scooted her chair closer to Santana's and wrapped an arm around her fiancée.

"I think I can handle it," she said assuredly. Santana raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Oh, you do, do you?" she smirked.

"I do," Quinn whispered. She'd meant the statement to be light and breezy, but her inadvertent use of the phrase took on different meaning as the words left her lips. "I love you," she whispered. Lost in Santana's dark chocolate eyes, Quinn didn't care that the brunette's parents were right across the table. As Santana fused their mouths together, Quinn opened herself up to the kiss eagerly. How long they would have gone on for had Santana's father not cleared his throat loudly, Quinn didn't know, but when they parted Santana was breathing hard and Quinn had never felt more alive - her whole body felt pleasantly electrified. It meant the world to Quinn to share their happiness with the two other people who loved Santana as much as she did and she beamed at Santana's mom who was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"I'll take care of your daughter," she promised them earnestly. Maribel Lopez took Quinn's hand across the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I know you will, mi hija," she said with a watery smile. "And now I can tell people that I have two daughters. Thank you for making Santana so happy, Quinn."

"My pleasure," said Quinn, as Santana started running her fingers teasingly over the inside of her knee. Ordinarily, Quinn would have stopped her and flushed with embarrassment, but at that moment she wanted nothing more than to be as close to her fiancée as humanly possible.

The celebrations went on until late into the evening, and only drew to a close when the waiter apologized and told Quinn and the Lopezes that they were closing up for the night. It was well past midnight when Quinn and Santana stumbled back into the Fabray house, the champagne they had consumed making them noisy and clumsy.

"Sshh!" giggled Quinn as Santana crashed into the dresser in the hallway and swore loudly. They tumbled into the bedroom and Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind them and kicked off her shoes. Santana was already stripping off her clothes, and when Quinn reached for the pajamas she'd laid out on her bed earlier that night, Santana shook her head.

"Don't," she whispered, suddenly sober. "I know we can't do anything tonight, but please don't put those on. I want to feel you in my arms, no barriers."

Quinn nodded quickly, tossing her unworn pajamas onto a chair before shimmying out of her dress. They both quickly divested themselves of the rest of their clothes and proceeded to tangle their limbs together under the blankets. Quinn rested her head against Santana's chest and closed her eyes contentedly. Today had been pretty much perfect, she thought to herself sleepily. She could only pray that tomorrow would go as well.

After sleeping late and enjoying a lazy morning reading the newspaper whilst Santana listened to music on her iPod, Quinn magnanimously volunteered to help her mom with the cooking for their Thanksgiving meal. This served the dual purpose of putting Judy in a good mood and keeping Quinn occupied so she didn't allow her imagination to run riot thinking up all manner of scenarios as to how Judy would react when Quinn and Santana shared their engagement news with her. Santana made herself scarce, retreating to Quinn's room to take a nap, under the guise of allowing Quinn and Judy some mother-daughter bonding time.

Twenty minutes before dinner was due to be ready, Judy ushered her daughter out of the kitchen to go and freshen up and locate her missing girlfriend. On entering her bedroom, Quinn couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight before her. Santana was curled up on the bed, a blanket twisted around her lower body, and Quinn's pillow hugged tightly against her chest. Her long, dark hair cascaded over the sheets and her features were relaxed as she breathed evenly and deeply.

Quinn hated the thought of disturbing her fiancee's peaceful slumber so she headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower and change first. Once she was clean and dressed for dinner she couldn't put it off any longer, so she lay down beside Santana and gently began stroking her face with the pads of her fingers.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she whispered against Santana's ear. "It's time to wake up. Dinner's almost ready." She kissed her way along Santana's jaw line from below her ear until she reached her mouth. "Come on, baby," she cajoled as Santana stirred reluctantly but refused to fully wake up. "My mom made pumpkin pie, and I know that's your favorite."

She'd said the magic words. Santana opened her eyes and blinked sleepily at Quinn.

"Did you say pumpkin pie?" she asked through a yawn.

Quinn chuckled as she smoothed Santana's sleep-mussed hair.

"Oh, so _that's_ what wakes you up," she huffed, pretending to be offended. "You sleep through my kisses but my mom's pumpkin pie does the trick."

Santana groaned and stretched languidly, sliding her body enticingly against Quinn's. "You smell good," she murmured, pressing their lips together and kissing her softly. "I don't want to get up."

"You have to," said Quinn, stroking her hand up and down Santana's arm and grinning when she felt the brunette's flesh pucker into goosebumps. "I'm not doing this without you. I plan on using you as a human shield if my mom takes our engagement badly."

Santana groaned again but pulled herself into a sitting position so that she was looking down at Quinn.

"You think she will?" she asked nervously and Quinn sighed.

"I hope not,' she said with a shrug. "But there's only one way to find out, are you ready?"

Santana bent her head to kiss Quinn again, and this time the kiss was filled with promise and hope.

"Okay," she whispered against Quinn's parted lips. "Let's do this."

Santana and Quinn had planned to wait until the end of the dinner to share their news with Judy, but twenty minutes into the meal neither of them had really touched their food, nerves ruining their appetites, and Quinn's mom was looking at them strangely.

"Is something wrong with the food?" she asked finally. The girls shared worried glances and Santana nodded slightly at Quinn, squeezing her hand under the table. Quinn set down her fork as Santana took a long sip from her wine glass.

"No, Mom, the food's wonderful," Quinn said, willing her voice not to shake. "It's just that Santana and I have some news and we're a little nervous about sharing it with you." She took a deep breath as Judy sat stoically in her seat, waiting for her daughter to continue. Quinn decided to do it fast, like ripping off a band aid. "We're engaged," she blurted out. "We're getting married."

Judy mirrored Quinn's earlier actions and set down her cutlery carefully.

"I see," she said slowly. "When did this happen?"

"My birthday," Quinn said in a low voice as she tried to judge her mother's reaction. Judy wasn't screaming or throwing things, so that was good, but that wasn't really her style anyway. "Santana asked me to marry her and I said yes. She gave me a ring, Mom, and it's beautiful."

"And does Santana have a ring?" asked Judy, her expression unreadable.

"Not yet," Quinn admitted, her cheeks coloring as she flashed a silent look of apology in her fiancee's direction.

Judy nodded calmly. "And your parents know about this?" she asked Santana.

"Yes," Santana said, a proud smile on her lips. "We told them last night."

"And what was their opinion?" Judy wanted to know. Quinn swallowed hard before answering.

"They were happy for us," she explained, a note of defiance creeping into her tone. "They know we love each other and that we make each other happy. I hope that you can share that sentiment."

Abruptly, Judy stood up from the dinner table.

"Quinn, I would like a word with you in private," she said, in the same unnaturally calm voice she'd been using since Quinn had told her their news.

"No," Quinn said emphatically. "Santana is my fiancée, Mom. Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of her."

"Please?" Judy asked softly. Without waiting for a response, she gracefully exited the room, leaving Quinn and Santana staring in her wake.

"You should go after her," Santana said finally, breaking the stunned silence.

Quinn's eyes were bright with unshed tears. "Why?" she asked hoarsely. Santana quickly stood and enveloped Quinn into a tight embrace.

"Because she's your mom," she said simply.

Quinn found her mother in the room that used to be her father's study. Judy was sitting at his desk, her head in her hands. When she looked up at Quinn, her eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot.

"You don't have a very high opinion of me," she said flatly, her tone making it clear that it wasn't a question. "You were scared to tell me about your... engagement." She struggled over the final word and Quinn felt a rush of anger.

"Do you blame me?" she spat bitterly.

Judy shook her head. "No. I haven't been a good mother to you, Quinn. You have no reason to trust me."

Quinn felt the blood pounding in her ears. "Why should I trust you?" she demanded. "I knew you'd react this way. I knew that you wouldn't be able to accept it... to accept me! I love Santana, Mom." Her voice broke as she spoke, but she held her head up high, determined not to cry.

"I know, " Judy said softly. "And she loves you. I've known that since she came to see me in the spring. I knew then that this day would come and I've had a lot of time to get used to it."

"Then why are you so upset?" Quinn asked plaintively. "Why can't you be happy for me, Mom? Just for once?"

Judy stood up and walked around the desk to face her daughter. She reached out and stroked the silky strands of Quinn's hair, tucking them tenderly behind her ear.

"Oh, Quinnie," she said sadly. "I _am_ happy for you."

"You are?" Quinn asked incredulously. "Then why...?"

"It hurts that you were afraid to tell me," admitted Judy, shrugging her shoulders and sighing. "You're my little girl and I love you and I hate that our relationship is so fractured that you feel like you can't tell me things. I made so many mistakes with you, sweetheart, and I really don't know how I can atone for them."

"But you walked out," Quinn reminded her. "Why? What did you want to say that you didn't want Santana to hear?" Her mind was reeling at her mom's contrition. She wanted to sit down in a darkened room and collect her thoughts, but she didn't have that luxury.

Judy's reaction to her question was the strangest yet. Without looking at her daughter, she crossed the room and took down the painting on the wall that hid the family safe.

"Santana isn't who I pictured you ending up with, Quinn," she said in a conversational tone, as she began to spin the dial on the combination lock. "I always thought that someday, a handsome and intelligent young man would come to your father and me to request your hand in marriage." She paused to open the safe and extract a small pouch from under a pile of papers. "Of course, life never does go the way we expect," she added, laughing drily. Quinn watched her carefully, a frown of confusion marring her features. Judy walked slowly back across the room and held out the pouch to her daughter. Quinn took it from her with trembling fingers.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It was my grandmother's," she explained, a soft smile playing at her lips. "Your grandpa's mother's. When he died, he left it for you... for your engagement. I was planning to give it to the boy who would ask for permission to marry you, but since Santana didn't see fit to follow that tradition and ask me first," she chuckled to let Quinn know she was joking, "and since you say you already have a ring, I think maybe your grandpa would be pleased if you were to give it to Santana."

Quinn shook the pouch and a small, weathered box fell onto her palm. She opened it slowly, blinking away a fresh wave of tears that threatened to fall. "Oh, Mom," she whispered as the ring inside was revealed. "It's beautiful." The ring was platinum, a central diamond set in a bed of smaller stones that each sparkled and caught the light like a prism. It truly was exquisite. "Are you sure?" Her mom nodded, tears of her own wetting her cheeks.

"It's yours, Quinnie, to do with what you will," she said as Quinn flung herself into her mother's arms. The display of affection was uncharacteristic and took both of them by surprise, Judy patting her daughter awkwardly on the back as Quinn's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. After a long moment, Quinn pulled back from the embrace.

"Why didn't you give it to Frannie when she got engaged?" she couldn't help but ask, turning the ring over and over in her palm. To her amazement, her mother laughed and looked a little embarrassed.

"Two reasons," she admitted with a grin. "One, your grandfather made it very clear he wanted you to have it, and two, I've never liked your sister's husband. Your father thought it was a good match but I always thought Frannie could do better. Santana, on the other hand... she's a good girl, Quinnie, and if she makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

They hugged for a second time, finding the experience only marginally less uncomfortable than the first. As they parted, Quinn found herself praying that they'd one day be able to fully heal their fractured relationship. Judy had made some huge strides that day and Quinn found herself feeling proud of her mother, for perhaps the first time in her life.

Judy shifted uncomfortably under her daughter's scrutiny. She linked arms with Quinn and began to walk towards the doorway.

"You'd better put that away somewhere safe until you figure out the right time to give it to Santana," she said, her gaze falling upon the family heirloom still sitting on Quinn's open palm. "And we should get back to the dinner table before your fiancée comes looking for us."

Quinn allowed her mother to lead her back into the dining room where Santana was waiting, a mixture of curiosity and worry etched onto her beautiful face. Quinn shot her a reassuring smile, but couldn't begin to find the words to explain what had just happened. She wasn't sure she even believed it herself.

Judy crossed the room to give a stunned Santana a warm hug.

"Welcome to the family, my dear," she said softly before sitting down at the table and picking up her fork. "Come on girls," she chastised gently. "Sit down and eat. Your dinner's getting cold."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Celebration**

"Reject," said Santana, handing Quinn a dinner plate and earning a scowl from her fiancée. Quinn was up to her elbows in hot, soapy water as she washed the dishes from their Thanksgiving dinner and Santana was on drying duty.

Quinn plunged the plate back into the sink and scrubbed at a stubborn mark before offering it back to the brunette.

"Better?" she asked, pouting as Santana inspected the plate carefully.

"Passable," teased Santana. Quinn stuck out her tongue childishly and flicked soap bubbles at her.

Santana squealed and tried to hit Quinn with the dish towel, but Quinn danced out of the way, giggling. Throwing the towel onto the counter, Santana scooped up a handful of soap suds and stalked menacingly towards her.

"You wouldn't," Quinn said, holding out her hands as her back hit the door of the refrigerator and she found herself with nowhere to run. Santana raised an eyebrow and continued to prowl towards her, her dark eyes flashing mischievously.

"Wanna bet?" she teased, as she stopped just a foot away from Quinn. She gathered some of the bubbles on her index finger and brushed it playfully over the tip of Quinn's nose, holding the other hand containing most of the suds over Quinn's head.

"Santana!" shrieked Quinn, through her giggles, as she tried in vain to ward of her fiancee's attack by tickling her ribs and attempting to keep her at arm's length.

Santana squirmed under Quinn's ministrations, as she tried not to laugh.

"Okay, okay," she chuckled, "I give in. You win." She held up her hands in mock surrender as Quinn smirked at her. "You look hot with bubbles on your nose," she added, using her soap-free hand to pull Quinn close. She rubbed up against her and tilted her head as her lips ghosted over Quinn's, then she dumped the rest of the soap bubbles on to her head, grinning triumphantly.

"Oh, you're so going to pay for that," Quinn told her, shaking her head through her giggles. She darted around Santana, scooped up soap bubbles of her own and flung them at Santana, who squeaked as the soapy water trickled down her cleavage. Quinn couldn't resist licking her lips, and suddenly their soap fight was forgotten as Santana closed the gap between them and kissed her hard. Quinn moaned in response, tangling her fingers into Santana's hair as she tried to deepen their connection.

"Um, girls?" Quinn's mom's voice from the doorway made them jump apart guiltily. As they smoothed their rumpled clothing, and Quinn tried to brush the soap out of her hair, there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Mom, we were just... um... doing the dishes," Quinn offered lamely, and Santana dissolved into laughter beside her. Quinn elbowed her in the ribs but even that wasn't enough to stop her.

Judy smiled nervously. "It's okay, Quinn. It's nice to see the two of you happy. Please, don't let me interrupt. I just wanted to check that you girls will be alright here whilst I go out for an hour or two."

"You're going out?" Quinn asked in surprise, glancing at the microwave clock. "Isn't it a little late?"

Now it was Judy's turn to look embarrassed. "It's not even nine o'clock yet, Quinnie," she said softly. "I promised to meet a friend of mine for a drink... A coffee," she added as Quinn's eyes narrowed. Quinn had made it quite clear what she thought of her mom's drinking in the past.

"A friend?" Quinn repeated, taking in her mom's flushed cheeks and neatly coiffed appearance. She'd touched up her make up since dinner, and unless Quinn was very much mistaken, she'd reapplied her perfume.

"Yes, sweetie, a friend," Judy confirmed, not quite meeting her daughter's gaze.

"For coffee?" Quinn asked and her mother sighed.

"Darling, must you keep repeating what I say? Yes, I'm meeting a friend for coffee, and I really must go or I'll be late." She surreptitiously checked her reflection in the glass cabinet and smoothed a stray strand of shiny, blonde hair.

"You have a date!" Quinn blurted out, her mouth dropping open in surprise. Her mom's cheeks colored instantly. "You do, don't you? You're seeing someone."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that," Judy said, blushing furiously. "We've only met up a couple of times."

"But you like him, right?" Quinn asked, flashing an excited glance at Santana. After her heart to heart with her mom earlier that evening, she was happy for Judy. She wanted her mom to have something good in her life. Her mom shuffled uncomfortably and glanced at the clock.

"Yes, he's a good man," she said hurriedly.

"What's he like?" Quinn demanded. "Do I know him? What does he do for a living?"

"Baby?" Santana's hand was soft and warm on her arm. "Your mom's going to be late. Can you save the Spanish Inquisition for tomorrow?"

"Okay," Quinn acquiesced, giving her mother a quick hug, being careful not to muss her hair or outfit. "Go have a good time, Mom. We won't wait up."

Judy looked scandalized. "Quinnie, we're just meeting for a coffee," she protested and Quinn and Santana laughed.

As her mom closed the door behind her, Quinn embraced Santana and rested her head comfortably against her fiancee's shoulder. "Wow," she murmured. "I can't believe my mom's seeing someone."

Santana ran her fingers down Quinn's spine and up, under her shirt to rest lightly on the small of her back.

"Hmm," she agreed. "But you know what I can't believe?" Quinn shook her head against Santana's shoulder. "That your mom left us here alone," Santana admitted. "She knows we're engaged, she's happy for us, and she's left us with the house to ourselves."

Quinn shifted in Santana's arms so that she could look into her eyes.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" she asked wonderingly. Santana brushed her lips lightly across Quinn's jaw.

"We're going to celebrate," she said throatily.

"Mmmm," moaned Quinn appreciatively as Santana sucked gently against her pulse point. "What exactly did you have in mind?" Santana's hands were now both roaming pleasurably under her shirt and Quinn was starting to tingle all over, desire curling hot and low in her belly.

"You know, I've never been in your hot tub," Santana whispered against her ear.

"But it's November," Quinn protested weakly. "It's cold outside."

"I'll keep you warm," promised Santana, nipping at her earlobe and eliciting an audible gasp.

"We d-don't have any swimwear here," Quinn stammered.

"We don't need any," Santana said breathlessly. "Please, Q. I really want to do this with you."

Quinn swallowed hard, her heart pounding. "Okay," she agreed. She allowed Santana to take her by the hand and lead her out of the back door to the jacuzzi. Quinn busied herself setting the controls and pulling back the cover, trying not to let her teeth chatter. Santana disappeared back into the house and returned with towels and robes for each of them.

"Are you going to tell me what you and your mom talked about earlier?" Santana asked suddenly as Quinn tested the chlorine level in the water. Quinn turned to look at her in surprise.

"You really want to talk about my mom right now?" she queried. "We may not have that long until she gets back, and I'd really rather she didn't catch us defiling her hot tub."

Santana chuckled. "Who said anything about defiling? I just want to take a nice, relaxing soak." She flashed Quinn what was obviously meant to be an innocent smile, but Quinn wasn't buying it.

"Naked," she reminded Santana, raising an eyebrow at her fiancée.

"If you insist," Santana replied with a wolfish grin. She pulled her shirt over her head in a single, swift movement, then grimaced. "Fuck, it's cold."

"That wasn't a request," Quinn chuckled, "and I did warn you that it'd be cold. I suggest you hurry up and get into the tub before you freeze." Her eyes raked appreciatively over Santana's lithe frame as the brunette quickly stripped to her underwear before climbing hurriedly into the steaming, bubbling water.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Santana asked, groaning at the welcome warmth. She lay back against the jets and fixed her gaze on Quinn, who stood hugging a towel and looking pained. "Come on, baby, the quicker you get undressed, the quicker you can get in here and get warmed up."

With a resigned sigh, Quinn stripped off her shirt and shimmied out of her skirt, squealing at the frigid air. She slipped thankfully into the hot water and felt pins and needles in her toes as they reacted to the sudden temperature change.

"Hi," Santana murmured softly, sliding up against Quinn and running her fingers down her arm playfully.

"Hi yourself," Quinn giggled, the heat and the bubbles already working their magic on her tense muscles. She brushed her lips gently over Santana's, once, then a second time, before Santana suddenly deepened the kiss, plunging her tongue without warning into Quinn's mouth. Quinn gasped at the sensation of Santana's hot, wet tongue massaging her own, and she threaded her hands into her fiancee's hair to hold her in place.

Santana tugged at Quinn's hand and coaxed her to move until Quinn was straddling the brunette. Quinn wrapped her arms around Santana and pressed their torsos together as their tongues continued a sensual battle for dominance. Santana's hands were at her back, unhooking her bra, and the girls parted for just long enough for Santana to peel away the offending item of clothing.

"I want you," groaned Santana breathlessly, her hands roaming over Quinn's wet, slippery body, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"You've got me," Quinn panted in response, Santana's words shooting straight to her core and leaving her throbbing with instant arousal.

Santana urged Quinn up onto her knees, causing her to whimper as the cold night air hit her exposed shoulders, and then gasp as Santana's full lips closed over her nipple, sucking gently as her tongue swirled and danced. Santana's hands stroked down her spine and eased into her underwear to cup and squeeze her rear.

"God, I love your ass," Santana murmured, as her lips briefly left Quinn's breast before she transferred her attention to her other, so far neglected, nipple. "And your boobs," she added, her breath warm against Quinn's sensitized skin.

"Mmm," Quinn groaned appreciatively. "The feeling's mutual, baby." To prove her point she cupped Santana's breasts through the soaked material of her bra, running her thumbs over Santana's already peaked nipples. Reaching around to Santana's back, she struggled to release the clasp, her fingers clumsy from lust. Suddenly, Santana grasped her by the hips and she found herself pushed back against the side of the hot tub, the jets pleasurably massaging her lower back. Under the water, Santana's hands were peeling Quinn's panties down her legs. Being naked only fuelled Quinn's desire and she started planting hot, messy, open mouthed kisses anywhere she could reach on Santana - her collar bone, her chin, her ear lobe.

Then, Santana's fingers were stroking between her thighs, teasing her with soft, gentle caresses that made her want to beg for more. Wantonly, Quinn pressed against Santana's hand, parting her legs wider and rolling her hips as she struggled to guide her fiancée's fingers to where she wanted them the most. Santana chuckled against Quinn's ear as she laved her tongue roughly over her pulse point.

"Tell me what you want, baby?" she asked, her voice hoarse with desire.

"You," Quinn huffed breathlessly, squirming beneath Santana's ministrations.

"Where?" Santana teased, and Quinn opened her lust-filled eyes to glare at the brunette. As her gaze met Santana's warm, dark chocolate eyes, all of Quinn's frustration faded and the ache between her thighs suddenly became nothing more than a minor inconvenience. She wanted Santana, wanted to make her fall into bliss, screaming her name.

"You," she repeated firmly, impatiently tugging the thin material of Santana's underwear aside as she plunged her fingers into the silken heat between her thighs.

"Oh God, Q!" Santana moaned at the sudden change of direction of their love making. Quinn licked her lips and grinned at Santana's wide-eyed gaze as she started to stroke tiny circles over the sensitive nub at her fiancee's center.

"Hmm, you feel good," Quinn whispered as she ghosted her lips across Santana's. Santana's hand was still between Quinn's thighs, but she had stilled her ministrations due to the surprise of Quinn's sudden onslaught. Now, she began to move her fingers again, mirroring every action Quinn's hand was making between her own legs.

Long, slender fingers dipped and swirled, stroked and teased, coming close but never quite going where either girl wanted them most. Quinn pressed gently at Santana's entrance, and delighted when she felt the brunette squirm against her, desperate to feel her inside.

"Please?" Santana begged softly, and Quinn almost came from the timbre of her voice alone. She ground down instinctively against Santana's fingers and was rewarded with an audible moan from her fiancée.

"Together," Quinn murmured, capturing Santana's lips in a searing kiss. " I want us to come together, I want to feel you inside me as I make you explode, I want you to make me come undone, please baby, make me come..." She began to babble as Santana stepped up her touch, rubbing harder, tighter, faster circles between her thighs. "Please make me come?" she repeated, her voice taking on a plaintive edge. Gently, searchingly, she pressed two fingers against Santana's entrance, groaning as they were encased within velvet walls, then crying out with pleasure as Santana plunged her own fingers deep into Quinn's core.

They matched each other, movement for movement, stroke for stroke, and Quinn was the first to fall, crying out Santana's name. Moments later, she felt Santana's walls begging to flutter rhythmically around her fingers as her fiancée succumbed to ecstasy.

Quinn whimpered as Santana gently withdrew her fingers and collapsed beside her as they allowed the water jets to massage their spent bodies.

"Mmm," groaned Santana appreciatively, as she wriggled to position the jets right between her shoulder blades. "That was nice, I wish we had a hot tub of our own."

Quinn chuckled. "I can think of plenty of things we can do without a hot tub that are just as nice," she admitted, blushing slightly as Santana gazed at her curiously.

"Like what?" Santana wanted to know. Quinn bit her lip, suddenly shy. "Like what, baby?" Santana coaxed softly, shifting her body closer to Quinn's. "Come on, you're the one who said that you wanted us to be able to talk about anything."

"Well, I was thinking about how I can't keep my hands off of you," Quinn said tentatively, her voice barely more than a whisper. "And how much you like it when I tell you what I want you to do for me... And I was wondering... Did you ever...? I mean..."

"Tell me what you want, Q," Santana said breathlessly, her eyes darkening with lust. Quinn buried her head in her fiancee's shoulder, unable to say the words whilst Santana was looking at her.

"I want you to tie me up," she admitted, her cheeks burning. She felt Santana's breath hitch, and then quicken. Santana's fingers were under her chin, coaxing her head up to meet her desire-filled gaze. "Would you want to try that?" Quinn asked softly. Santana nodded as she wrapped her arms around Quinn and kissed her tenderly.

"That sounds... amazing," she whispered against Quinn's lips. "You really trust me that much, sweetie?"

"I love you," Quinn said simply, sinking into Santana's embrace.

It was a long time before the girls could bring themselves to leave the sanctuary of the hot, steamy water and each other's arms but eventually the threat of discovery won out. They both knew that, despite Quinn's mom's acceptance of their relationship, Judy would be non too happy if she found them naked and wrapped in an intimate embrace in her hot tub. Santana climbed out first, squealing as the frigid night air hit her body and diving for her towel and robe. Chivalrously, she held up a towel for Quinn, wrapping her in soft, fluffy cotton the second she left the water.

By the time they reached Quinn's bedroom, both girls were shivering and Quinn's teeth were chattering violently. Hurriedly, they burrowed under the blankets and wrapped their arms around each other in an attempt to get warm.

"What did your mom say to you?" Santana asked, going back to their pre- hot tub conversation. Quinn's head was against her chest, and she'd been sleepily listening to the soothing staccato of Santana's heart beat so it took her a moment to respond.

"That she's happy for us," Quinn said finally, closing her eyes and humming appreciatively as Santana's hands threaded through her hair, her nails drawing lightly across her scalp. "And that she's sorry for the mistakes she made with me."

"I'm glad," Santana told her stifling a yawn. "You're amazing, Q. You deserve to be happy. That's all I want." She suddenly shifted from beneath Quinn, wriggling over to the side of the bed and looking for something on the nightstand.

"Hey!" pouted Quinn at the unwelcome loss of her fiancee's warm, pliant body. Santana found what she was looking for and rolled back to Quinn, gathering her into her arms.

"I thought you might want to put this back on now," she said, smiling softly at Quinn's frown. She held out the small blue box containing Quinn's engagement ring. "I want everyone to know that you're mine, Lucy Quinn Fabray. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," Quinn replied eagerly, as Santana slipped the ring back onto her finger. "I'm never taking it off again," she promised. "I love you." Her last word was swallowed by a sleepy yawn.

"I love you too," Santana chuckled. "Now, go to sleep, fiancée."

"Your wish is my command," Quinn mumbled, snuggling into Santana's warm embrace and closing her eyes contentedly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Relationships**

Quinn woke up early the next morning full of restless energy that wouldn't allow her to simply lie still and revel in the soft warmth of Santana's embrace. She reluctantly extricated herself from the tangle of satin smooth limbs clinging to her and threw on her discarded pajamas before heading downstairs in search of coffee.

As she padded barefoot into the kitchen, she shivered in the early morning chill and wished that she'd thought to put on socks. The tiles were cold beneath her feet and she went about the coffee making process as quickly as she could using her mom's ridiculously complicated and expensive espresso machine. It was nice to have the kitchen to herself, Quinn had been used to the solitude when she'd lived at home, and it felt comforting and familiar.

She hopped up onto a stool at the kitchen island and idly flipped through a magazine as she sipped her drink. She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the articles - her mind was buzzing with ideas for giving Santana her ring. She wanted it to be beautiful, perfect, epic - but none of her ideas so far had quite fit the bill. Santana deserved something amazing and Quinn was determined to give it to her.

Quinn was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear her mother enter the kitchen. It wasn't until her mom placed a soft hand on her shoulder that Quinn was aware of her presence and she almost fell of her stool in surprise. As always, Judy Fabray was immaculately dressed. Quinn had almost never seen her mother looking anything less than perfect, even mornings after nights when her mom had passed out from drinking, but this morning Judy looked even more pristine than ever. Her blue eyes sparkled and there was a flush to her cheeks that Quinn instantly recognized - she saw it in her own reflection every morning after a night with Santana. Her mom was in love.

"You want bacon and eggs?" Judy asked brightly as she busied herself taking out the ingredients from the refrigerator. Quinn raised an eyebrow - her mom didn't usually approve of greasy, fatty food - she'd lectured her daughter on the importance of maintaining her figure often enough. Still, Quinn wasn't about to look a bacon offering gift horse in the mouth so she nodded wordlessly and took another sip of her coffee, savouring the bitter taste on her tongue. "Did you and Santana have a good time last night? I was surprised you went to bed so early," Judy commented innocently as she turned on the stove and cracked eggs into a pan. Quinn choked a little on her coffee as her mind was instantly flooded with memories of _exactly_ how good of a time they'd had, and Judy shot her a curious glance. Quinn willed herself not to blush as she coughed and spluttered.

"We did," she said simply, her voice a little hoarse as her throat burned. "How about you and your mystery man?" She smirked at her mom, and Judy gave her a reproving look.

"Really, sweetheart, don't be so dramatic, he's not a mystery man." She shook her head at her daughter but Quinn shrugged, unrepentant.

"He may as well be," she said lightly, crossing her ankles and swinging her legs as she sat and studied her mother's reaction. "I haven't met him, and I have no way of knowing if he's good enough for you. I don't know anything about him - where you met, what he does for a living." She flipped the magazine closed and rested her chin on her hand, fixing her gaze on Judy. "You haven't even told me his name," she added with a pout. Was it her imagination, or did Judy look uncomfortable at her words? "Who is he, Mom?" Judy sighed, and refused to meet Quinn's eyes, instead focussing intently on turning the bacon. "Mom?" Quinn asked again, frowning now.

Judy opened her mouth to respond but suddenly her expression brightened and she glanced towards the doorway. Santana yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen, her tangled hair swinging around her shoulders as she padded her way towards the island.

"Santana, dear, you're awake," Judy trilled, as though the brunette's arrival was the most wonderful thing in the world. "Did you sleep well? Would you like some breakfast? Quinnie, why don't you pour Santana a cup of coffee and then the both of you go through to the dining room and I'll bring the food through in just a few minutes."

Quinn scowled darkly at her mother as Santana wrapped her arms around her from behind and planted a chaste kiss to the top of her head. Despite her annoyance at her mom's avoidance, Quinn's body reacted automatically to Santana's touch, relaxing into the embrace. A delicious warmth flooded through her every place their bodies connected, and Quinn felt her tension begin to disperse.

"Thank you," Santana said to Judy before turning her attentions towards her fiancée. Morning, Q," she greeted, stifling a yawn. "I missed you." She leaned forward to whisper into Quinn's ear. "The bed was cold without you, I was hoping you could warm me up." She nipped lightly on Quinn's earlobe and Quinn felt her cheeks burn.

"Good morning, Santana," she said indulgently. "I missed you too." She fixed her glare on her mother. "Mom, our conversation isn't over," she warned. "We're going to talk about this again before Santana and I leave tonight."

"Of course, sweetheart," Judy placated, looking relieved that she'd been granted a reprieve for now. She ushered the girls into the dining room and hurried back to the stove to finish cooking.

"What was that all about?" Santana asked once they were alone together, looking thoroughly confused as she ran a hand through her tousled hair. She still had remnants of sleep caught on her eyelashes and she somehow looked more adorable than ever, standing in the Fabray dining room wearing grey sleep shorts and a ratty pink t-shirt with a faded picture of a Care Bear with a rainbow emblazoned on its stomach. Quinn had bought the t-shirt as a joke gift for Santana during their first summer together, and the brunette had worn it to bed so often that the edges of the legend had started to peel.

Quinn shrugged. "I'm not sure," she admitted. " something's up with her, she doesn't want to tell me about the guy she's seeing and I don't know why. It's not important, I guess... but I felt like we were finally getting closer, and now she's hiding stuff from me again." She sat down at the table and sighed. Santana instantly started to massage her shoulders and Quinn stifled a groan. "You're _so_ good at that," she murmured appreciatively, as Santana's hands stroked over her tightly knotted muscles, "but it makes me want you in ways I can't have you right now."

Santana chuckled. "Remind me of that when we get home tonight," she said, withdrawing her hands and causing Quinn to whimper. "I'm sorry about your mom, baby," she added softly as she sat down beside Quinn and took her hand instead. "Try not to worry, there could be hundreds of reasons why she doesn't want to tell you who he is."

"Like what?" Quinn pouted. Santana looked thoughtful.

"Maybe he does something really embarrassing for a living like stripping, or dressing up as a hot dog to promote a fast food place?" she suggested, and Quinn couldn't help but smile at the image. "Or he could be someone you know," continued Santana, her dark eyes flashing mischievously, "like Puck - you guys do have a pool after all, who is your mom's pool boy? Ooh, or Principal Figgins - didn't his wife leave him?"

Quinn was equally horrified and amused by Santana's theories. She wrinkled her nose distastefully as Santana opened her mouth to voice more possibilities, but Quinn stifled her with a finger to her lips.

"No more, please?" she begged, and Santana nodded, puckering her lips to brush a soft kiss against Quinn's fingertip. She parted her lips and sucked Quinn's finger into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the digit and eliciting a gasp from Quinn as her body flooded with instant desire. "Stop that," she moaned weakly. "Are you trying to torture me by starting things we can't finish?"

Santana grinned as she released Quinn's finger. "Took your mind off your mom, didn't it?" she asked, looking exceptionally pleased with herself. "And, as I said earlier, I have every intention of finishing what I started just as soon as we get home tonight. I want you, Q, but you're going to have to learn a little patience."

Quinn squeezed her thighs together uncomfortably as her stomach did flip flops and her skin began to thrum with anticipation. "Screw patience," she murmured, launching herself forward and landing on her fiancee's lap as she attacked Santana's lips with her own. As she wound her fingers into Santana's hair and rubbed her body against the brunette's she didn't care that her mother was likely to walk in at any moment. All she cared about was being as close to Santana as possible.

Santana returned the kiss eagerly, her tongue sneaking through parted lips to massage Quinn's, her hands on Quinn's thighs to steady her precarious position on her lap. Still, neither girl could quite bring herself to forget where they were and their kisses quickly changed from hot and wet to sweet and tender. By the time Judy brought their breakfast, Quinn was simply perched lightly on Santana's lap, brushing gentle, innocent kisses against her fiancee's lips, and all hands were in respectable places. If Judy was embarrassed by their show of affection, she didn't let on. She simply placed the dishes on the table and sat down to eat, as Quinn slipped inconspicuously back into her own chair.

Quinn didn't feel it was fair to interrogate her mother in front of Santana, so she waited until later before approaching the subject again. It was mid-afternoon before she got another opportunity and the girls had to be at the airport by five so Quinn knew that this would be her last chance to get the truth out of her mother. Santana was upstairs packing, and Quinn located her mother in the laundry room. She couldn't help but feel her mom was avoiding her - Judy had run out claiming she had errands to run immediately after breakfast, and since she'd been home she seemed to have one urgent chore after another to attend to. Quinn had scoured most of the house looking for Judy before finally locating her, and she wasn't going to let her mom side-step her any longer.

"Who is he, Mom?" she asked without any preamble, as Judy added fabric conditioner into the washing machine. Judy jumped guiltily and poured rather more liquid into the compartment than necessary before turning to look at her daughter. Quinn saw apprehension in her mother's eyes, and something more... fear? "Please?" Quinn asked softly.

Judy sighed. "Okay, but not here. Come and sit with me?" She led Quinn down the hallway and into the den and indicated for her to sit, but Judy herself remained standing and she paced the floor nervously.

"Quinnie, sweetheart, I love you," Judy began tremulously. "And I'm very proud of you. I want you to believe that, okay?" Quinn nodded, her mouth dry. Her heart was pounding suddenly and she felt an inexplicable feeling of panic. She knew her mom was gearing up to tell her something she wasn't going to like. "The man I'm seeing, he's a good man... he's nothing like your father. He's kind and thoughtful, he's a good father to his son. He's had a difficult time in the past, and he's shared his experiences with me. The way he's come through it is just... well, it's a testament to his strength. I've come to care for him a great deal these past few months and we eventually decided to act upon our mutual attraction." She paused and swallowed hard before continuing. "You've... you've met him before..."

"Oh my God, it is Principal Figgins, isn't it?" Quinn groaned. "Santana was right!" She slapped herself on the forehead and bent her head to her knees so she wouldn't have to see her mother's reaction. Then, she heard Judy laugh.

"What? No, Quinnie, what an absurd idea," her mother chortled. "You really think I would date your old high school principal... To be perfectly honest, I always felt he was a bit of an imbecile. You do get the strangest ideas in your head, darling. No, the man I've been seeing is the father of a boy you went to school with. He was on the football team, so I'm sure you'd have seen his father at the games when you were cheering. His name is Paul, and his son is David. He's a lovely boy." She smiled expectantly at Quinn.

"David?" Quinn repeated, frowning as she thought through the boys on the football team. Really, she hadn't paid that much attention to most of them. "Wait... Karofsky? You're dating Karofsky's dad?" Her tone was incredulous. Of course she remembered David, how could she not. The memory of being slushied by him during sophomore year was indelibly burned into her brain. She knew now that he'd been going through stuff, fighting his own demons, much the same as she had, but his horrendous behavior far surpassed anything she'd done, didn't it? She felt truly sorry for him that he'd found life so difficult that he'd chosen to try to end it in senior year, but she remembered how angry she'd been when she'd heard the news. No one knew it at the time, but she could identify with his hurt, his confusion, his acting out... but to go to such extremes, the very notion had terrified her. She wracked her brains to remember the last time anyone she knew had mentioned David. She knew Kurt was still in touch with him and she knew that he was supposedly happy, but she really hadn't thought much about him since leaving high school behind.

"Yes, I'm dating Paul Karofsky," Judy confirmed. "I'd like you to meet him when you come home for Christmas, Quinnie. I've told him all about you, and he'd love to get to know you better." She beamed at her daughter but Quinn didn't return the smile. She was still processing the information.

"But why wouldn't you want to tell me you were dating Karofsky's dad?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Karofsky and I weren't exactly friends but I don't remember ever going into detail about that with you."

Judy studied her hands intently and Quinn could see that her mom's cheeks were flushed.

"It's because of where we met," she said nervously. "It was in the spring, shortly after you told me you were g- in love with Santana."

"Go on," Quinn encouraged softly, trying to keep the sudden flash of anger that surged through her at bay.

"Well, you know I wasn't very supportive in the beginning, until Santana came to see me," her mom reminded her. Quinn nodded, biting her lip to keep from interrupting. "Well, I was still finding it difficult to deal with, sweetheart," Judy admitted, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "but I didn't want to lose you so I was determined to try. Then, your friend Finn died." Quinn felt a rush of pain as she always did at the sound of his name. "I went to see his parents, to pay my respects," Judy continued. "I could imagine their heartbreak, I've come too close to losing you too many times. I had a long conversation with Burt Hummel, and well, to cut a long story short, he told me about a support group for the parents of gay and lesbian teens and I went along and met Paul. And, well, I've told you the rest." She let out a rush of air as she finished her story and looked at Quinn, tears coursing silently down her cheeks.

Quinn swallowed hard and fought back her own tears. "You went to a support group?" she asked in disbelief. Her mom nodded and looked pained. Quinn frowned at her mother's reaction. "And you thought I'd be angry about that?" she asked softly. Again, Judy nodded. Quinn's mouth fell open in shock. "God, Mom, no!" She shook her head vehemently. "I'm glad you went, honestly. I'm happy that you have people you can talk to about this. It's confusing as hell, I know, I've been there. It's hard to get through it on your own."

"You did," Judy whispered. "For years, I made you think you couldn't talk to me, and I'm so sorry baby. I'm so proud of the brilliant young woman you've become in spite of having me for a mother." She wiped away her tears and offered Quinn a watery smile. "Paul helped me to see that," she explained. "He nearly lost his son because he was struggling to accept who he was. His wife left them because of it, but now Paul and David are closer than ever. I want that for us."

Quinn stood up, surprised at how shaky her legs felt. She embraced her mom, the gesture starting to feel a little more natural after their honest conversations over the past two days.

"I want that too," she murmured into the curtain of her mom's hair. "And I'm proud of you, Mom. I love you."

After their heartfelt conversation, Quinn felt drained but oddly light. She went to find Santana but she didn't have time to relay the conversation so she promised her fiancée she'd tell her all about it on the plane.

Judy drove them to the airport and tearfully hugged them goodbye. Quinn was embarrassed but pleased at the emotional farewell, and the girls promised her they'd see her at Christmastime.

Once their plane was airborne, Quinn snuggled against Santana and repeated her talk with her mother. Santana was surprised but pleased about Karofsky, she'd been closer to David than Quinn was and she hoped they'd get to see him over the holidays as well. Eventually, her voice hoarse from all the talking, Quinn was finished with her story and she allowed Santana to wrap a blanket around her and stroke her hair soothingly until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next thing she knew, Santana was shaking her gently into consciousness, her lips pressing lightly against the sensitive skin below Quinn's ear. "Wake up, baby, we're almost home."

Quinn opened her eyes to gaze blearily out of the window at the city lights speeding below them and she smiled as she took Santana's hand. She'd had an amazing few days, but right now all she wanted was to lose herself in a little bubble with her amazing fiancée. And she still had a surprise engagement to plan.

"What are you smiling at?" Santana asked her curiously. Quinn shrugged beatifically.

"You," she whispered, capturing the brunette's lips in a tender kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the follows and reviews, it means a lot that people are enjoying this story. Hope you like this chapter, it's the longest one I've ever written but there was a lot to cover..._**

**Chapter Ten: Engaged Bliss**

It was midnight when Quinn and Santana climbed wearily out of the taxi cab and through the familiar weathered double doors to their apartment building. Quinn dragged her bag behind her, and groaned when she saw the _out of order _notice on the elevator doors. Her back ached, her contacts were irritating her eyes, and she felt grimy - in desperate need of a shower. She wanted nothing more than to stand under the hot water for ten minutes before putting on her pajamas and crawling into her comfortable, warm bed with her beautiful fiancée. Instead she now had to traipse up five flights of stairs. It may as well have been Mount Everest. She sank down onto the bottom step, groaning dramatically.

"C'mon, baby," Santana cajoled, rocking on the balls of her feet with the endless supply of energy she seemed to have. "The sooner you get upstairs, the sooner we can get you into bed. Remember, I promised you I'd finish what I started when we got home?"

Quinn glared at her murderously for a second, but Santana's pout was just too adorable and she couldn't stay annoyed. Nor was she willing to move just yet though either.

"San, I love you but I honestly don't think I have the energy for sex tonight," she sighed. "I don't even have the energy to walk up these stairs." She leant her head against the wall and looked forlornly at her fiancée.

Santana chuckled. "Well, I wasn't talking about sex, gutter-brain," she said with a grin. She plopped down lightly beside Quinn and rested her head against her shoulder. Quinn hummed appreciatively at the connection. "Not tonight anyway, we have the whole weekend for that." Quinn smiled at Santana's words despite her exhaustion. "I remember promising you a massage," Santana reminded her, "and I know your back is hurting you. If you can just manage to get up to the apartment you can take a nice, long, hot shower and then I'll massage it all better for you." She drew out her words slowly and teasingly, and Quinn had to admit it was pretty effective.

Summoning the last of her energy reserves, she allowed Santana to take her hands and pull her to her feet and they started the long climb.

"How did you know my back was hurting?" Quinn asked curiously as they rounded the first corner. Santana turned to face her and paused to consider her fiancée before answering.

"Your eyes," she said softly, brushing soft blonde strands of Quinn's hair away from her face. "You look different when you're in pain - your eyes kind of narrow and you get this cute little wrinkle right here." She tapped the bridge of Quinn's nose. Quinn scowled.

"I don't have wrinkles," she said plaintively. Santana merely shrugged and chuckled before resuming her climb.

Somewhere around the third floor, Santana took Quinn's bags off of her and proceeded to lug them all noisily up the remaining flights, not caring if she woke up their neighbors, while Quinn followed gratefully, wincing on every arduous step. Finally, the girls made it to their apartment and Quinn waited for Santana to unlock the multitude of locks before stumbling thankfully inside.

Once safely ensconced in her own home, Quinn's mood lifted and she felt her tired muscles begin to relax as she reveled in the familiar surroundings. They'd only been gone a few days but somehow it seemed much longer. She was glad to be home. She heaved her bag onto the bed and started to unpack but Santana grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Leave that until morning," she instructed sternly. "Shower, go, now!" She pointed towards the bathroom and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, Ma'am," she said with a mock salute. Teasingly, she stripped off her shirt as she headed for the bathroom, tossing it back towards Santana. She heard Santana's appreciative chuckle and she knew the brunette's eyes were fixed on her back, and moments later she was firmly ensconced under the steaming jets of the shower.

Wrapped in a towel, Quinn emerged from the bathroom to find her fiancée sprawled on the bed wearing shorts and a tank top and flipping through a magazine she'd bought for the flight.

"Feeling better?" Santana asked, patting the bed beside her and Quinn sank down onto the mattress with a soft groan.

"Much," she agreed, stretching out her legs and grinning when Santana couldn't help but run her eyes down the length of her towel-clad body.

"Lay down on your stomach," Santana instructed suddenly, reaching for the bottle of massage oil on her nightstand.

"You don't have to do this," Quinn told her gently. "You must be exhausted too. We can just go to sleep if you want."

Santana shook her head. "That's not what I want," she countered with a mischievous smile. "I promised you a massage and I've been looking forward to it all day. I've been dreaming about my hands all over your soft, warm skin." She trailed her hand up and down Quinn's thigh as she spoke. "Don't back out on me now, Fabray."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Quinn acquiesced, wriggling to get comfortable, as Santana climbed over her legs to straddle her. She eased the towel down so that it only covered the swell of Quinn's behind, leaving the expanse of her back bare. Quinn shivered at the first light stroke of Santana's palms over her skin. "Your hands are cold," she grumbled into the pillow. Santana merely chuckled in response as she set to work, her fingers performing magic on Quinn's knotted muscles, rubbing the back of her neck and kneading over her shoulder blades before moving lower across the expanse of her upper back, ghosting around to brush the sides of her breasts. Quinn relaxed into the touch, only wincing slightly when Santana began to work on the tender muscles at the base of her spine.

Their previous attempts at massaging each other had always turned into something more, neither of them able to resist the sensuous feelings of satiny soft, smooth flesh beneath their hands, but this time the brunette remained entirely professional, knowing that Quinn was too tired and sore for anything more, and when she was finished, she helped her into her pajamas and snuggled with her under the blankets as Quinn meandered between sleeping and waking.

"I love you," Quinn murmured sleepily into the sweet-smelling curtain of Santana's hair. "Thank you for the last few days. I know my mom's a lot to deal with."

"You're worth it," Santana replied, stretching away from Quinn for a moment to turn of the light. Quinn was still moaning her displeasure when Santana gathered her back into her arms protectively. "I love you."

"I love you too," Quinn replied through a yawn, closing her eyes and breathing in the delicious, familiar scent of her fiancée before she fell asleep.

The following day was Saturday and although Quinn would have loved nothing more than to spend a lazy morning in bed with Santana, errands, chores, and homework were calling.

The first thing that needed tackling was the discarded suitcases from their trip which were sitting in the middle of the floor waiting to be unpacked. Santana stubbed her toe on them three times before a sudden burst of energy hit her and she flitted around the cluttered apartment like a Tasmanian Devil, cleaning and straightening as she went. Quinn sat on the floor next to her suitcase and started to unpack but she was finding it hard to focus on the task at hand. For one thing, Santana looked utterly adorable dancing around the room in her tiny shorts and t-shirt, her long, toned legs on display, and her dark hair tangled and wild from sleep. For another, Quinn was unable to stop thinking about the engagement ring her mom had given to her for Santana. It was safely ensconced in her purse, but Quinn wanted it on her fiancee's finger as soon as possible. She was impatient, but she wanted the moment to be right. She'd had a few ideas already, but she'd need a little time to firm up her plans. They'd have Beth the following weekend, so maybe the one after that... Quinn _really_ didn't want to wait that long but she knew that she wanted it to be special, so she didn't really have a lot of choice. Forcing herself to concentrate on the here and now, she tore her mind away from romantic images of her fiancée, and instead started mentally planning out the term paper she needed to write as she unpacked.

Under duress, Santana went to the market to buy groceries whilst Quinn got to work on their huge pile of laundry. She was sitting Indian-style on the wooden bench in the laundry room with her laptop propped open on her knees, trying to get a head start on her homework whilst she guarded the dryer when Santana came looking for her.

"Hey baby," Santana greeted, sidling through the laundry room door and grinning at her cross-legged fiancée. "Whatcha doing?"

"Flying a jet," Quinn said drily as her fingers flew over the keys of her laptop. She was almost finished with her term paper and she didn't look up at Santana, knowing that one look into those chocolate brown eyes and she'd be a lost cause. Santana was undeterred. She plopped down beside her fiancée and gave an exaggerated sigh. Quinn smiled to herself but studiously ignored Santana's attempts at distraction. The brunette stretched languidly, idly brushing her hand down Quinn's arm, and Quinn automatically caught her lower lip between her teeth as her body reacted immediately to the innocent touch.

"I went to the market," Santana said conversationally.

"Uh huh," Quinn murmured distractedly. She finished her paragraph and read back over it to check it made sense.

"They had the spaghetti sauce that you like on sale," continued Santana, "and I got you your ridiculously expensive shampoo." She tucked a few stray silky blonde locks behind Quinn's ear as she spoke, before trailing the back of her hand lightly over Quinn's jaw.

"Thank you," Quinn replied, as she started working on her conclusions, frowning at the computer screen and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Santana started to hum lightly, tapping her fingers against the wooden bench, and Quinn was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain her train of thought.

"San, sweetie, " she said with an indulgent sigh. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Sorry." Santana stopped humming and tapping, and instead jumped up from the bench and went to check how much longer the dryer program had to run. "Should we order Chinese food tonight?" Santana asked suddenly, opening the dryer door and causing the machine to beep angrily.

Quinn closed her laptop and fought back a wave of frustration.

"Santana," she said pleadingly. "I love you, and I'd love to be able to spend every waking minute with you but I'm trying to get this term paper finished. Why don't you go get started on your homework too and then I promise you I'll be all yours this evening."

Santana pouted. "I can do my homework tomorrow," she insisted. "That's why Sundays were invented."

"Santana!" Quinn put on her best HBIC voice to let her fiancée know she wasn't kidding around. "Go find something to do. The laundry is almost finished, and I need about another hour to work on my paper. Please?"

"Then can we do something fun?" Santana asked hopefully. "Please? I don't even care what we do, I just want us to spend some quality time together, just the two of us."

Quinn felt a pang of guilt at the brunette's words. It had been a crazy couple of days and they hadn't had a lot of alone time other than on the plane. 'Something fun' seemed like it shouldn't be too much to ask for. Placing her computer carefully onto the bench, Quinn stood up, unfurling her long legs and wincing at the stiffness in her muscles. She stepped between Santana's parted legs as her fiancée studied her curiously, then she cupped Santana's cheek in the palm of her hand and lowered her head to kiss her gently.

"Is that a yes?" Santana asked, her voice muffled against Quinn's lips.

"Mmm," Quinn affirmed, and Santana chuckled, snaking her arms around Quinn's waist to hold her tight. "So, when you said you don't care what we do..." Quinn began hopefully and Santana groaned.

"Don't make me regret that, Fabray," she warned teasingly as her hands stroked up and down Quinn's spine.

"I wasn't planning to," Quinn said, pretending to be offended. "But since you don't seem to trust me, you don't get to know where we're going." She wiggled out of Santana's embrace and skipped over to the dryers, opening the door and pressing the off button to silence the frantic beeping. She dumped the slightly damp clothes into her laundry basket, causing Santana to smirk. "What?" she demanded, feigning innocence. "I can be spontaneous."

"Sure you can, baby," giggled Santana, and Quinn glared at her.

"And just for that, you get to carry the laundry basket!"

True to her word, Quinn refused to tell Santana where they were going even after they got on the subway. Santana acted like she didn't care, but Quinn knew the brunette better than that, and she could tell that not knowing was driving her crazy. Honestly, the anticipation was making Quinn more than a little wired too. She was hoping, no - praying - that Santana would find her ideas romantic. She'd made a couple of frantic phone calls while Santana was getting ready in the bathroom, and it seemed like the Gods were on their side for once. Everything had fallen into place. The small, deep red box was in her pocket and she kept slipping her hand inside to touch it as they traveled.

Finally, they reached their first destination, and Quinn led Santana up the steps into the crisp, sunny but chilly New York fall weather.

"Central Park?" Santana asked in confusion. "Q, it's, like, forty degrees today. You want to spend the afternoon walking in the park in forty degree weather?" She wrinkled her nose adorably as she tried to figure out her fiancee's uncharacteristic desires. Quinn simply shrugged and clasped Santana's hand tightly to stave off the cold.

"I like the park," she stated. "Our first summer together we used to come here all the time, remember?" She stopped walking and tugged Santana against her, brushing her lips lightly across the brunette's.

"It's starting to come back to me," Santana agreed appreciatively, her fingers automatically winding themselves into Quinn's hair to keep her close. They kissed again, and this time Quinn's tongue stroked across Santana's lower lip, requesting access to the wonderful recesses of Santana's warm mouth. Santana happily acquiesced and deepened the kiss, groaning as Quinn's tongue caressed her own. All thoughts of the cold weather were forgotten as the girls lost themselves in the moment, but after several amazing minutes where Quinn considered abandoning her plans, taking a cab home, stripping Santana naked, and spending the rest of the day making love, she forced herself to break the kiss. Both girls were flushed and breathing hard, with swollen lips and tangled hair, and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.

"I love you," she said softly.

"Then why'd you stop?" whined Santana, trying to kiss her again. Quinn danced lightly out of the brunette's embrace.

"Because," she said enigmatically, "I have plans for you, Santana Lopez. The park is just a detour, and we need to get going if we're going to make the next show."

"What show?" Santana demanded, but Quinn shook her head.

"All in good time," she promised, grasping Santana's hand and leading her along the path.

They made it to their next destination with just a few minutes to spare. Santana had decided to be difficult, dragging her feet as she pleaded with Quinn to tell her where they were going. Quinn had remained resolute however, and Santana had been forced to wait. Her pout told Quinn she was not happy, but Quinn wasn't worried. She knew that by the end of the day Santana would have forgotten all of her irritation.

"We're here," she announced, stopping outside the beautiful old building. She was almost certain Santana wouldn't have even thought of visiting this place before, but she hoped that her fiancée would love it just as much as she did.

"The Natural History Museum?" Now Santana was really confused.

"The planetarium," Quinn corrected, laughing lightly. "You said you'd do anything, and this is what I want to do. It's romantic - we can cuddle under the stars. It's one of the few things I miss from home - there's so much light pollution here that I hardly ever see the stars. Please? Give it a try for me?" she begged, taking in Santana's still uncertain expression.

Santana reached up to palm her cheek, and her hand was warm against Quinn's cold skin.

"Okay," she agreed, licking her lips subconsciously as she studied Quinn's pleading expression. "You had me at 'cuddle'." They kissed again, and Quinn fleetingly worried about how increasingly difficult it was becoming to keep her hands off of her fiancée. Then, they really were running late, so they dashed to pick up their tickets and headed into the huge, dome-shaped auditorium.

Forty-five minutes later, the lights came back on and Quinn reluctantly lifted her head from Santana's shoulder. She'd barely heard any of the narration during the show, she'd been too awed by the amazing visuals - both the cosmos projected onto the ceiling, and the wondrous expression in Santana's chocolate brown eyes as she took in the spectacle.

"So, what did you think?" Quinn asked her fiancée excitedly.

"It was okay," Santana said nonchalantly, but her eyes were sparkling and Quinn knew she was teasing.

"Just okay?" she prodded, snaking her hands around Santana's waist and leaning towards her, before suddenly tickling her ribs. Santana squealed and squirmed under Quinn's ministrations.

"Okay, okay, it was awesome," she acquiesced. "So, what now? You want to grab some dinner?"

"Sounds good," Quinn agreed, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she realized that it was almost time to put the final part of her plan into action, "and I know the perfect place. Do you trust me?"

Santana nodded without hesitation. "Implicitly," she agreed.

Quinn insisted on using the bathroom before they left, and safely ensconced in the stall she sent a hurried text message. _We're on our way..._

It was dark by the time the train crossed into New Jersey, but mercifully the sky was still clear and although the night was cold it was also dry.

"We're having dinner with Rachel and Kurt?" Santana asked as the girls started down a familiar street and came to a halt outside the dilapidated apartment building which both of them had once called home.

"Not exactly," Quinn said, almost skipping into the building with nervous excitement. She hit the button on the elevator and tried to rein in her anxiety. Her palms were clammy and her fingers shook as she searched her purse for the key to the loft which Rachel had given her in case of emergency.

The elevator ride was excruciating. Quinn felt like a six year old on Christmas Eve, only magnified a thousand times, and Santana was pouting and had folded her arms sulkily. Much as they both loved their old roommates, Quinn knew that Santana had been looking forward to a romantic dinner with just the two of them. Silently, Quinn prayed that her fiancée would be happy with the end result.

She walked down the hallway on shaky legs, the butterflies in her stomach feeling like they were making a bid for freedom, then she lifted the key to the lock.

"Why aren't you knocking?" Santana asked curiously. Quinn giggled nervously.

"You'll see," she said hopefully, opening the door.

Her phone call to Kurt had paid off, and their friend had outdone himself. Quinn was going to owe him big time for this. Every surface of the apartment twinkled with candles and fairy lights. The floor was festooned with rose petals and the couch had been pushed aside, in its place was a blanket laid out over the floorboards and a myriad of multi-colored pillows. In the center of the blanket was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, and two glasses. Beside them lay an unopened pizza box.

Santana's mouth dropped open in surprise as she took in the spectacle around them. Quinn shrugged off her coat and boots, then helped the stunned brunette do the same. It wasn't until she'd led them over to the blanket and urged Santana to sit on the pillows that her fiancée finally found her voice.

"Oh my God, Q, how did you do this?" she asked wondrously. Quinn couldn't help but blush at the undisguised glee on Santana's beautiful face that her plans had caused.

"I had a little help from some really good friends," she said, reaching for the champagne. "But don't worry, they've all made themselves scarce for a couple of hours." She poured two glasses of the bubbly liquid and offered one to Santana, who sipped it appreciatively. Santana peeked into the pizza box and a delicious scent wafted out from the open box. "Did Kurt get it right?" Quinn asked anxiously. "It should be the same pizza we had on the night we first... um, you know..." She broke off and blushed, causing Santana to laugh at her inability to say the words.

"It's perfect," Santana told her happily. "Even down to the bacon, although I still think you're a little crazy for putting bacon on a pizza." She beamed at Quinn, and suddenly Quinn couldn't put it off any longer. She'd planned to wait until they'd eaten, and she had a whole speech prepared, but somehow that didn't seem important any more.

"Marry me," she blurted out, her heart pounding irregularly in her chest. Santana chuckled and reached for her left hand, running her thumb lightly over Quinn's engagement diamond.

"I thought that was already the plan," she said softly. Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight and Quinn was overcome with a rush of emotion. She blinked back unexpected tears and tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she shook her head. Santana looked confused, and more than a little concerned. "Q?" she whispered.

"I love you so much," Quinn told her, her right hand reaching into her pocket for the small velvet box. "I thank God every day that we found each other and that we made it through all of the drama. If Rachel hadn't persuaded me to come here for the summer," she gestured at the loft around them, "I don't know if I ever would've had the courage to tell you how I really felt. You make me braver, Santana, you bring out the best in me... you always have. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly what you mean to me." She paused and swallowed hard, her tongue sneaking out to wet her suddenly dry lips before saying the most important words she'd ever said. "Santana Lopez, will you marry me?"

Quinn held out the ring and watched as the emotion flooded over Santana's beautiful features. "Where did you get this?" Santana asked breathlessly, reaching out to touch the sparkling ring. "Quinn, it's... exquisite."

"My mom," Quinn explained simply. "It was my grandmother's."

"And your mom's okay with you giving it to me?" Santana's voice was hoarse, her tone incredulous. Quinn nodded.

"It was her idea," she admitted. "She sees how happy you make me." With trembling fingers, she took the ring out of its box and held it out before Santana. "Sweetie, you still haven't given me an answer," she reminded her gently. "I've agreed to marry you, and I'm wearing your beautiful ring, but will you do me the honor of becoming _my_ wife?"

"Yes," Santana said through her tears, nodding vehemently. Quinn slipped the ring onto Santana's finger, feeling a rush of desire that was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Santana was hers, really, truly hers. Capturing her fiancée's lips beneath her own, Quinn tried to convey every emotion she was feeling at that moment. She felt, rather than heard, the low moan in Santana's throat at the intensity of the kiss. It was only the fact that they were in their friends' apartment that stopped Quinn from tearing off Santana's clothing there and then, but she didn't know how much alone time they had left before their undoubtedly excited friends would return, wanting to celebrate with them.

Reluctantly, she tore herself away from the kiss, panting hard.

"We should eat before the pizza gets cold," she said breathlessly. "And besides, I'm not sure how much longer Blaine can keep control of Kurt and Rachel. They could come back at any time." She chuckled. "I'm still partly deaf in my right ear - Rachel screamed so loud when I told her I was going to propose to you. Besides, we have all the time in the world to celebrate."

"We do," Santana agreed. "But Q, just so you know, I hope you weren't planning on getting any sleep tonight because the things I'm planning to do to you when we get home..." She licked her lips and raised an eyebrow, before nonchalantly taking a huge bite of pizza, leaving Quinn thrumming with almost painful desire.

Quinn pouted at her fiancée, knowing that Santana had a very good idea of the effect her words would have on her physically, but she couldn't stay annoyed. She'd done it, she'd asked Santana to marry her and Santana was wearing her ring. Right at that moment the world could have ended and Quinn couldn't have cared less. Santana was hers, and that was the only thing that mattered.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's note: I don't usually comment here regarding individual reviews, other than to say I value all your feedback (which I really do!) but to the guest reviewer who wants me to hurry up, I'm not sure if that's a comment on the pacing of my story or the frequency of my updates. If it's the former, there's a small time jump after this chapter and some angst on the way, and if it's the latter, hopefully this update will help! Thank you all for each and every review, hope you enjoy chapter eleven!**_

**Chapter Eleven: Special**

Quinn's nervous excitement had all but ruined her appetite, but it seemed to have had exactly the opposite effect on Santana who was rapidly devouring the pizza as Quinn picked absently at the toppings on her own slice. Santana was grinning so widely that Quinn couldn't help but wonder how her fiancee's face didn't hurt, and she kept pausing mid-chew to examine the ring now adorning her left hand.

"I can't believe your mom gave this to you," she said for about the eighth time. More than anything, the fact that Quinn's mother supported their relationship seemed to be a huge source of joy for the brunette. "You're sure she's okay with it, really?"

"I'm sure," Quinn confirmed, reaching out to squeeze Santana's hand reassuringly. "You know that's all down to you, don't you? If you hadn't gone to see her in Lima and been so..." she paused to search for the right word, "um... forthright, she never would have come around. I have my mom in my life thanks to you."

Santana shrugged. "All I did was tell her she was an idiot if she let you go," she said dismissively. "She got the rest of the way on her own. I just wanted her to know how amazing her daughter is, that's all." She smiled mischievously then yanked Quinn's hand, falling back against the pillows so that Quinn landed on top of her with a surprised squeal.

"Santana!" shrieked Quinn, through her giggles as the brunette gazed up at her. Her dark eyes were almost black as she reached up to smooth Quinn's hair back from her face, and Quinn could feel Santana's heart pounding where their torsos pressed together. "Hi," she murmured, suddenly sombre.

"Hey," whispered Santana as her fingertips trailed across Quinn's cheekbone and down over her slightly parted lips. Quinn pressed a soft kiss against the pads of her fiancee's fingers, before lowering her head and fusing her mouth eagerly with Santana's. Their kisses were instantly hot and wet, tongues pressing urgently against each other, swirling and stroking the recesses of each other's mouths. Santana's hand left Quinn's face, moving down over her clavicle to cup her breast, squeezing gently through the material of Quinn's dress and drawing an audible moan from Quinn's lips. Her whole body thrummed with want and need, and as Santana's free hand moved down over her ass, kneading softly, Quinn seriously considered making love to her fiancée there and then. It took every last ounce of willpower she possessed to pull back, breathing raggedly.

"Later," she promised. "As soon as we get home."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Santana demanded, sitting up with a start and reaching for her discarded coat and purse. In doing so she dislodged Quinn, causing her to tumble onto the pillows with a chuckle.

"Have a little patience, sweetie," Quinn sighed, wriggling against the cushions to get comfortable. She laid on her back and smiled contentedly at her fiancée. "I think Kurt and Rachel would murder us if we leave before they get home, Rach begged me to text her a photo of your ring earlier - apparently I lack adequate knowledge regarding stone settings and gradings, and we really do need to say thank you to Kurt for setting up all of this."

"Okay," Santana said, an adorable pout accentuating her full lips. "They'd better not take too long though." She picked up the last piece of pizza and held it out to Quinn. "You want to split this?"

Quinn shook her head. "It's all yours, I'm not hungry."

"You've barely eaten," complained Santana. "Are you trying to make me fat?"

"Not at all," Quinn replied demurely, settling her hands behind her head and stretching lithely, delighting in the way Santana's eyes traveled over her figure. "I do love your curves though," she added as an afterthought.

Santana grinned as she bit into the pizza, pausing to peel off a piece of bacon which she popped into Quinn's mouth. Quinn licked at Santana's fingers teasingly and the brunette groaned.

"Q, I swear to God, if you don't want me to ravage you right here..." she began warningly, but she was distracted by a loud, repeated knocking and the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the front door.

"We're coming in," Rachel announced loudly, forcibly reminding Quinn of Sue Sylvester and her ever-present megaphone. "I expect everyone to be fully dressed and all hands to be in respectable places." Quinn giggled but Santana was glaring murderously in the direction of the loft's door as it swung open. Rachel's hand was clamped firmly over her eyes, and Quinn shook with laughter at Santana's outraged expression.

"It's okay, Rach," she promised. "We're presentable." Immediately, Rachel removed her hand and bounded over to her friends, her warm brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Did you do it?" she asked tremulously. Quinn nodded, elbowing Santana who graciously held out her left hand for Rachel to fawn over. Kurt hurried over to examine the ring too, practically salivating with anticipation, whilst Blaine offered Quinn a gentle hug.

"Congratulations," he said, sharing a quiet smile with Quinn. Quinn beamed at him - she'd never forgotten the support he'd given her when she'd first come to New York. She'd been so confused and afraid of the intensity of her feelings towards Santana, but Blaine had helped her figure out what she really wanted. Without him, she didn't know if she would have ever have had the courage to act on her feelings.

"Thank you," she replied softly, hoping to convey just how grateful she was for his friendship in those two simple words. From the look in Blaine's hazel eyes, he understood.

Rachel finished admiring Santana's ring and turned her attention to Quinn's instead. Their friends predictably wanted to hear the stories of both proposals, which seemed to take an eternity, as Kurt and Rachel continually interrupted, pressing for more and more details. When they finally finished their stories Rachel had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy for you," she said, as she struggled to rein in her emotions. "First Kurt and Blaine, now you guys. Everyone's getting married."

"Rach..." Quinn began hesitantly, knowing that her friend must be thinking about Finn and the wedding they'd never get to have.

Rachel shook her head to silence her. "I'm okay, Quinn, really. I know Finn would be happy for you too. You were his first love, and Santana..." she shot a mischievous smile in her direction, "you were his first 'you know'." Everyone laughed and the momentary tension was broken. Then Rachel clapped her hands together excitedly. "Ooh, you know what you guys should do? You should have a joint wedding!"

The loft was suddenly filled with Santana and Kurt's raised voices, both vocalizing the reasons why there was absolutely no chance of that happening.

"No offence, Lady Hummel," Santana insisted, "but our wedding's going to be girly enough with Quinn involved. If we add you into the mix it would be like a unicorn throwing up rainbow glitter over everything."

"Well, our wedding is going to be a stylish, black tie, classic event," Kurt retorted, without waiting for Santana to finish. "Blaine and I are going to be the center of attention, and I know how much _someone_ likes to hog the spotlight..."

Quinn and Blaine hung back and watched their respective partners bicker, identical amused grins on each of their faces. There was no malice behind their words, it was closer to sibling rivalry than anything else.

Eventually, Santana and Kurt had run out of good natured insults and it had been firmly established that a joint wedding was not on the cards. As soon as Quinn felt they could politely make their escape, she began to gather her things together and say goodbye to their friends. Santana, who had practically been out the door for the last hour, grabbed her by the hand and tugged her towards the elevator even as Rachel tried to give her one last hug. Quinn smiled apologetically in Rachel's direction, but from the grin on the tiny diva's face it was clear she understood what was behind Santana's urgency.

Never had the train ride to Manhattan seemed so long or uncomfortable to Quinn and, from the pained expression on Santana's face, Quinn knew her fiancée was feeling the same way. The girls spent the journey gazing adoringly at each other, sharing innocent touches and chaste kisses, desperately wanting to feel a deeper connection. By the time they made it back to their apartment building, Quinn wanted Santana so badly that it physically hurt. Their fingertips touched as they both moved to open the door to the building, and it shot through Quinn like an electric shock. For once, the elevator was working and Santana dragged Quinn inside urgently, slamming the metal grill shut behind them. Instantly, her hands were everywhere, waking up Quinn's body and making her knees tremble. They shared hot, messy, wet kisses wherever they could reach - mouths, necks, collarbones. Quinn grazed her teeth over Santana's earlobe and groaned hungrily as Santana's fingers groped at her thighs beneath her dress.

Quinn was only vaguely aware of the elevator stopping on their floor and she stumbled down the hallway in Santana's wake, straightening her rumpled clothing and surreptitiously trying to refasten the buttons on the front of her dress that she hadn't noticed Santana unbuttoning. Santana fumbled with the keys, struggling to focus as Quinn latched her mouth onto the brunette's neck from behind, nuzzling through sweet smelling hair to suckle on Santana's pulse point.

Then, thankfully, Santana managed to open the door and they tumbled into their apartment giggling madly. Santana turned and pressed Quinn up against the door, kissing her urgently and demandingly as Quinn's hands traveled over her fiancee's figure, seeking out all of her favorite places.

Santana's fingers were struggling with the buttons on Quinn's dress, and Quinn was so turned on that she knew the second Santana's hands made contact with her skin she'd be lost.

"Wait," she panted breathlessly, squirming under Santana's ministrations. "San, stop, please?" Her voice was soft and plaintive, and the brunette instantly complied, taking a step away from Quinn, breathing hard, and gazing at her with lust-filled eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a puzzled expression clouding her beautiful features. Quinn reached up to stroke her face, reveling in the softness of her skin.

"I want you," Quinn whispered hotly.

"I want you too," agreed Santana, reaching for her again, but Quinn held up her hands to make her wait.

"I want us to take our time," Quinn explained. "I love you so much, and you've made me so happy tonight. I want it to be special and if you keep touching me like that it's all going to be over far quicker than I'd planned." She smiled shyly at Santana. "I want us to make love, San. I'm not saying I don't love it when you just... fuck me..." She stumbled over the words, and knew her cheeks were flushing from the wolfish grin the brunette gave her. "God, I do, I _really_ do. But that's not what I want tonight. I want you to make love to me and I want to worship you and show you just how much I love you... fiancée." She grinned slightly at the last word, and caught her lower lip between her teeth as she waited for Santana's response.

She wasn't disappointed. The brunette's eyes shone with emotion as she brushed her lips gently over Quinn's, breathing all her desire and love into the simple gesture.

"Can I take you to bed?" Santana asked hoarsely. "Fiancée," she added with a bashful smile. Quinn nodded.

Clothes were shed as the girls crossed the darkened room, bumping into furniture in their haste. By the time they tumbled onto the mattress, they were both clad only in their underwear. Santana rolled so that she was above Quinn, one leg either side of Quinn's thighs, and she paused to study her fiancée in the thin shafts of moonlight creeping through the curtains.

"Beautiful," she murmured, stroking her hands over Quinn's shoulders and running her fingers lightly across her collarbone. She bent her head to press a soft kiss into the crux of Quinn's throat where her neck met her shoulder, and Quinn hummed appreciatively at the touch.

Quinn's hands were clinging to Santana's toned and muscled back, keeping her close, as she unhooked the clasp on the brunette's bra. Santana kissed along the path her fingers had just taken until she reached the soft lace of Quinn's bra. Her tongue sneaked out from between her lips to lick a teasing line where the material stopped and the swell of Quinn's breast was visible.

"Take it off," Quinn panted, squirming under Santana's ministrations. The brunette was quick to comply, ridding herself of her own bra at the same time before lowering herself back down so that their breasts pressed together as she captured Quinn's lips in a tender kiss.

Long moments passed where languid kisses were shared and hands gently explored soft, warm, sensitive skin, and soon Quinn was writhing beneath Santana's skillful mouth and fingers. Santana traced a meandering path down over Quinn's breasts, brushing her thumbs across the tender peaks. Quinn bit down hard on her lower lip to stifle a moan as Santana licked sweetly at her nipple before taking it into her mouth, swirling her tongue over the aroused nub. Her hands continued to wander, drawing light circles on Quinn's stomach before moving lower over protruding hip bones before kneading shapely thighs.

As her fingers reached their destination at the apex of Quinn's thighs, Santana tore her mouth away from Quinn's breast, and sat up to rid Quinn of her underwear. Achingly slowly, she parted Quinn's legs and ghosted her fingers over Quinn's inner thighs, brushing over the sensitive line where Quinn's torso met her legs. Suddenly, her fingers were gone and Quinn couldn't help but whimper at the loss.

She opened her lust-blurred eyes and looked up into Santana's dark, desire-filled gaze.

"I want you," Santana whispered hoarsely, begging for permission to continue. All Quinn could do was nod, and Santana's talented fingers slipped welcomely into the wet heat at her center, stroking and swirling until Quinn came apart with Santana's name on her lips.

Santana continued to stroke her through her orgasm, and Quinn clung gratefully to her, her body singing at every point of contact with the brunette. Even as stars danced in front of her eyes and she tried to regain control of her limbs, Quinn wanted nothing more than to reciprocate, to show Santana how much she loved her.

With a sudden burst of energy, Quinn flipped them over so that she was hovering above her fiancée.

"I want you," she said, repeating Santana's earlier words. She ran her fingers over the swell of Santana's breasts. "Can I kiss you here?" she asked coquettishly. Usually she would just take what she wanted; knowing Santana's body almost as well as she knew her own, she knew which touches would make her squirm, and which would make her gasp and beg, but tonight she felt like talking her way through the process. Santana nodded and groaned as Quinn's head immediately lowered and her warm lips brushed over sensitized flesh. "How about here?" Quinn murmured, stroking her fingertips over the hollow of Santana's navel.

"Uh huh," panted Santana, her chest rising and falling erratically as her arousal grew. Grinning, Quinn poked out her tongue and swirled it into Santana's navel, delighting in the audible gasp Santana gave, and the way her hips bucked automatically into the touch.

"And here?" Quinn asked breathlessly, caressing Santana's inner thigh with the lightest touch that left her fiancée writhing.

"Please?" huffed Santana. Slowly, gently, Quinn lowered herself between Santana's thighs. The first stroke of her tongue was like heaven, and she felt her own desire pooling hot and low in her belly once again as she started to kiss and lick her fiancée into bliss. Santana's hands tangled in her hair to hold her in place, but there was nowhere else Quinn wanted to be. As Santana began chanting her name and babbling almost incoherently, Quinn added skillful fingers into the mix, rubbing and stroking the brunette into ecstasy.

As Santana came down from her climax, Quinn crawled back up the bed and into her fiancee's arms, snuggling contentedly against her breast.

"So, you said you wanted to do something fun today," Quinn reminded her. "Did I succeed?"

Santana chuckled, brushing Quinn's sweaty hair out of her eyes.

"Well, you definitely set the bar," she agreed. "I'm going to have high expectations from now on though."

Quinn giggled. "I'll see what I can do," she murmured, planting a chaste kiss to Santana's breast. "Are you tired? Do you want to go to sleep?" She lifted her head to meet the brunette's gaze.

Santana shook her head. "Not in the slightest," she admitted. "You want to go for round two?" Quinn beamed at her and pounced, kissing her hungrily. As Santana had promised back at the loft, it seemed like neither of them would be getting a lot of sleep that night.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Compromises**

After the excitement of the engagement, life quickly settled back into a normal routine for Quinn and Santana. For both girls, this meant balancing work with school and their encroaching finals whilst trying to find time for each other. It wasn't easy. Santana was frequently irascible when she studied; she repeatedly complained about her professors, her classes, and even her fellow students. She was easily distracted and bored, and she would often use inventive and even underhanded means to try to get Quinn to put down her books and focus on her instead. She would walk around the apartment in her underwear or whisper suggestive comments in Quinn's ear that would leave her instantly hot and flushed with need.

Quinn, for her part, knew she could be intolerant and belligerent when she was trying to study. The slightest disruption could irritate her, and on one particularly stressful Sunday afternoon, she snapped at Santana for turning the pages of her chemistry textbook too loudly, and then had to give up a valuable hour of homework time to make it up to her disgruntled fiancée.

Despite the stresses of everyday life, the girls were happy and in love. Nothing could dent their little bubble of joy for too long. Monday nights had become their de-facto date night. It was the one night that neither of them ever had to go to work, and it had become an unwritten rule that it was a homework and errand free night. Quinn always looked forward to their Monday nights together. They didn't always go out; more often than not they would simply order take out and curl up together on the couch to watch a movie, but it was _their_ night.

So, when Quinn received a text message from her fiancée as she studied in the university library during lunch on the first Monday in December, she was predictably disgruntled. She'd been trying to get ahead of schedule with her finals study schedule so that she could give herself the night off with impunity.

_Gonna be late tonight_, Santana had written. _Don't wait for me to eat. Explain later. Love ya xxxx_.

Quinn glared at her phone as though the inanimate object was personally responsible for ruining her day. She'd been looking forward to spending the evening together. The past weekend had been her weekend to see Beth and the little girl's dance class had been performing a pre-Christmas recital. Parents had only been offered two tickets each so Santana hadn't been able to go with Quinn and Shelby. She'd met up with them for dinner afterwards, but dinner with a hyper four year old hadn't exactly given Quinn the quality time she craved with her fiancée.

By the time she traipsed up the stairs to her apartment, soaking wet and freezing due to the icy rain, Quinn was pretty much mad at the world. She showered and put on her pajamas and debated ordering pizza before sighing and heating up unappetizing looking leftovers from their dinner at the restaurant the previous night instead. She sat on her bed and opened up her laptop to get in some last minute cramming for finals as she ate. If Santana was going to bail on their date night, there was no excuse for Quinn to waste the evening in an unproductive funk, she reasoned, but despite her common sense approach she found it hard to concentrate on memorizing her notes.

It was shortly after nine, and Quinn was re-reading a paragraph for the fourth time, finding it still just as mystifying as the first, when Santana burst through the door, dripping wet but grinning from ear to ear.

Kicking off her shoes and dropping her coat into a crumpled heap in the middle of the floor, Santana bounced onto the bed beside Quinn, shaking out her long hair and cascading water droplets all over her fiancée. Quinn squealed indignantly but Santana's good mood was unaffected.

"Hi, baby," she greeted Quinn cheerfully. "D'you miss me?"

Quinn huffed in response and pouted at the brunette.

"Where were you? What was so important that you had to miss our date night?" she demanded petulantly. To her surprise, Santana grinned unrepentantly.

"Uh oh, someone's pissed at me," she teased, and Quinn glared.

"I'm not pissed at you," she retorted, realizing even as she said it how lame she sounded. She sighed. "Okay, so I'm a little pissed. But only because I missed you." She allowed Santana to pull her into a damp embrace, and the brunette kissed her tenderly on the forehead.

"I missed you too," she murmured, kissing the tip of Quinn's nose before capturing her lips hungrily.

"So, where were you?" Quinn asked again when they parted. Santana beamed at her like a child on Christmas morning.

"At an audition," she announced proudly. "And I got it!"

"Got what?" Quinn grinned back at her fiancée, Santana's enthusiasm was infectious. Santana suddenly became coy, squinting at her from beneath her lashes.

"Well, it's a start," she said tentatively. "Everyone's got to start somewhere, right? And it is going out nationally."

"What is?" Quinn wriggled out of Santana's embrace and sat back to study her bedraggled fiancée, holding onto her upper arms and only barely resisting the urge to shake the news out of her.

"It's a commercial," Santana explained, "for... yeast infection treatment." Her dark eyes fixed reproachfully on Quinn as the blonde struggled not to laugh.

"Well... I... um..." Quinn spluttered, unsuccessfully trying to hide her amusement by covering her mouth with her hand, "I... um, I guess... congratulations?" She hadn't meant it to come out sounding like a question, but now it was Santana's turn to pout.

"You suck, Fabray," she said sulkily, and Quinn instantly felt bad for her. She stroked a gentle, soothing hand over Santana's arm, as though her fiancée were a particularly skittish wild animal.

"I'm sorry, San," she said, shaking her head. "Really, I'm proud of you. A national commercial? Who cares what you're advertizing, it's still amazing."

Santana had obviously anticipated Quinn's reaction and she seemed easily mollified by her contrition. Her pout was quickly replaced by the same child-like grin she'd been sporting when she'd entered the apartment.

"It is amazing," she agreed. "My agent says I should be able to book more jobs once I get this one under my belt. I'm actually doing something, Q, not just wasting time sitting in a classroom trying to cram my head full of useless... stuff!"

Quinn was momentarily speechless, not knowing which of Santana's statements to tackle first. They'd had many conversations about the brunette's disdain for education, and she really didn't want to ruin Santana's good mood, so she decided to ignore the second pronouncement and focus on the first... for tonight, at least.

"Your agent?" she asked curiously.

Santana nodded. "The casting people hooked me up," she explained. "It was an open call but when I told them I didn't have representation they recommended someone. It's going to be so cool, Q. I can't wait to tell Berry that she's not the only professional actress to come out of McKinley!"

Quinn silently thought Santana's definition of 'professional' was a bit of a stretch after just one commercial, but she wisely decided to keep that thought to herself.

"I'm proud of you, sweetie," she said happily, sharing Santana's excited smile. "Have you eaten? I could make you something while you tell me all about it?"

"That would be good," agreed Santana. She looked hopefully at Quinn, licking her lips subconsciously. "Can I have pancakes?"

"For dinner?" chuckled Quinn. Then she sighed indulgently. "Sure."

She busied herself in the kitchen whilst Santana hurried off to take a quick shower and get out of her wet clothes. She was pouring the fluffy batter into the pan when Santana returned, dressed casually in sweats and her Care Bear t-shirt. Santana wrapped her arms around Quinn from behind and began to kiss and lick a meandering path over her neck and shoulder.

"Mmm," murmured Quinn appreciatively, as Santana's hand moved under Quinn's camisole to stroke the soft skin of her stomach. "That feels good, baby, but I thought you were hungry." She disentangled herself from her fiancée and grabbed the spatula to flip the pancakes. Santana contented herself with sitting on the kitchen counter and swinging her long legs as she watched Quinn work. "So, start at the beginning," Quinn encouraged her, as she started to plate up the pancakes. "I want to know everything."

"Okay," said Santana agreeably. "So, I was at work last Tuesday and Melody told me about this audition that her roommate was going to..." she began, pausing to smother her pancakes in syrup and taking a huge bite. "Hmm, Q, these are good."

"Do I know Melody?" Quinn asked with a frown as she wracked her brain. Santana's co-workers at the Spotlight Diner seemed to turn over at an alarming frequency, and whilst she trusted Santana implicitly, Quinn was still a little wary of her fiancee's female colleagues after the whole Dani debacle.

"I told you about her," Santana reminded her, her mouth full of pancake. "She moved here last month, her boyfriend Jason goes to NYU - he's a freshman living in the dorms. Remember, I told you she swears Melody is her real name but I don't buy it. She's even more of a wannabe than Berry."

Quinn nodded, vague memories of the conversation coming back to her.

"So anyways," Santana continued, without even noticing Quinn's momentary anxiety, "I pressed her for the details, which she didn't want to give up out of loyalty to her roommate, so I may owe her a double shift or two by the way, and I went down there this morning. I've never seen so many girls in one place. I waited, like, three hours, then I saw the casting people and then I had to hang around for ages with about a dozen other girls. Late afternoon they called us all in again, then there were just three of us left. They left us in the holding room for ages, then they came out and sent the other girls home and offered me the part." She shrugged like it was no big deal, but her happiness radiated out from her whole body. "We're shooting next Friday," she added as an afterthought.

"Isn't that during finals?" Quinn asked, feeling her stomach twist uncomfortably. She knew what the brunette's answer would be before she gave it.

Santana was nonchalant, not even breaking off from devouring her dinner as she answered. "It's just chemistry. So, I figure I'll take an incomplete, it's not like I was going to get a good grade anyway. I was looking at a D after the last quiz."

"Santana," Quinn began warningly, but her fiancée's eyes flashed darkly.

"Don't, Q," she said sternly. "It's my choice. I know you're Little Miss Pro-education, but I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions. I just want you to be supportive." She finished her pancakes and leapt lightly down from the counter to dump her plate in the sink.

"I do support you, San," Quinn said softly. "I just want to make sure you've thought this through." She gazed at Santana, her brow furrowed with worry, and the brunette's expression softened in a heartbeat.

"I have," she promised, reaching for Quinn and holding her close. Quinn instantly relaxed into the familiar embrace. "I want this, Q, more than anything... well, _almost_ anything."

Quinn nodded against her fiancee's shoulder. "Okay," she whispered. "Well, I guess in that case we should celebrate." She still wasn't convinced that Santana's decision was the best one for her future, but Santana was right - it was her choice to make - and it was only one class, after all. Quinn pushed her doubts aside and focused on the beautiful woman in her arms. "So," she said with a gentle grin, "what do you want to do?"

Santana licked her lips wolfishly. "You," she said simply, and Quinn chuckled.

"I think that can be arranged."

Santana didn't need a written invitation. Her lips crashed against Quinn's in an instant, her tongue snaking out from between her teeth and stroking over Quinn's lower lip. Quinn parted her lips invitingly, and gasped as a hot wet tongue began massaging the warm recesses of her mouth. Santana's hands were already working their way under her camisole to palm her breasts determinedly. Instinctively, Quinn knew that Santana didn't want slow, tender love-making this time. She wanted hard, and fast, and intense, and Quinn was more than willing to oblige. Their kisses and touches were hot, messy, and deliberate, and Santana tore her mouth from Quinn's just long enough to rid her of her lacy camisole. The night air was cool against Quinn's heated skin but, before she could protest, Santana's hands covered her breasts once more, stroking and squeezing urgently and sending a flood of desire straight to Quinn's core.

One hand still on Quinn's breast, Santana slid her other hand down Quinn's spine, eliciting a delicious shiver from her fiancée. With no preamble, she slipped her hand under the waistband of Quinn's shorts, tugging them down over her hips. Eagerly, Quinn used her own hands to push her shorts and underwear the rest of the way down until they pooled at her ankles and she could step out of them.

Santana's eyes raked over her naked figure hungrily, before kissing her again fiercely, pushing Quinn gently backwards until she was pressed against the wall.

"You have too many clothes on," whined Quinn, pulling ineffectively at the hem of the brunette's t-shirt. Santana merely chuckled and bit down on Quinn's shoulder hard enough to leave a mark. "Oh God," whispered Quinn as another rush of need washed over her, leaving her panting and squirming.

"Wrap your legs around me," urged Santana breathlessly, running her hands down over Quinn's rear and settling against her upper thighs.

"I'm too heavy," protested Quinn, shaking her head, her chest rising and falling raggedly as she took in her fiancee's swollen lips and desire-darkened eyes.

"Trust me," Santana begged, ghosting a gentle kiss over Quinn's mouth. "I'm strong, remember junior year in the Cheerios - when you got me demoted to the bottom of the pyramid?" Quinn couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret at the memory but now was neither the time or place to make amends. Swallowing hard, she complied with Santana's request, and the brunette lifted her easily, bracing her against the wall. Santana's left hand was supporting her thighs, whilst her right slipped between their bodies, down over Quinn's stomach to settle determinedly between her legs. "Oh, Q," murmured Santana, closing her eyes as her fingers stroked through wet, velvet heat. "You feel so good."

Quinn couldn't do more than mewl in response, rolling her hips against her fiancee's ministrations. From the waves of pleasure already beginning to coil low in her stomach, Quinn knew that she wasn't going to last long. Santana's fingers moved hard and fast against her as Quinn clung to her like she was drowning and Santana was a life raft. Moments later, she came apart with a ragged gasp, eyes closed and head back as Santana pressed demanding kisses to the column of her throat.

After a long moment where all Quinn could focus on was the buzzing in her ears, the pounding in her chest, and the radiating pulses of pleasure throughout her body, she unhooked her ankles from around Santana's waist and stood up gingerly, unsure whether her shaky legs would support her.

"That was... you were..." she babbled breathlessly, unable to form a coherent thought, but Santana understood. Tenderly, she led her fiancée over to their bed and Quinn collapsed gratefully onto the mattress.

Santana climbed into bed beside her, gathering her close and waiting for Quinn to come down from her orgasm. As Quinn reveled in blissful detachment, she became aware of Santana's wonderful fingers ghosting over her thigh and hipbone. She groaned and tried ineffectually to still the brunette's touch.

"San, it's my turn," she giggled, as her fiancée licked teasingly at her nipple.

"Uh uh," murmured Santana, her voice muffled against Quinn's breast. "I wasn't done with my turn yet."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's note: Hi guys, sorry about the long gap between updates! Hope you're all still with me! I've got lots of personal stuff going on so updates may be a little erratic for a while but I'll write when I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm a little worried that it's below par so please let me know what you think!**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Trust**

Santana was a ball of nervous energy in the days leading up to her commercial shoot. She was unable to focus or concentrate for more than minutes at a time, starting tasks and then getting bored just as quickly. She'd begun to re-organize their closet, but had given up almost as soon as she'd dumped all of their clothes onto the bed, leaving Quinn to clear the mess away. She'd made a study chart for finals but had so far failed to stick to it at all. In fact, Quinn wasn't sure she'd even seen Santana pick up a book.

Quinn was fully immersed in finals preparation, and too busy cramming information into her exhausted brain to worry about how much time her fiancée was devoting to studying. Three nights in a row, Quinn was at the university library until close to midnight, having stayed on after her work shifts to get in a little extra revision; and on one occasion she actually fell asleep whilst studying there, only to be woken by her favorite security guard who gave her a stern lecture about overdoing things and sent her home.

When Quinn was stressed, she slept fitfully, suffering from nightmares and restlessness. She woke up often, her heart pounding and her body covered with a sheen of sweat. This in turn would wake Santana, and though the brunette was sympathetic at first, she soon began to get irritated by the lack of sleep.

Irritability mixed with nerves made Santana grouchy and stubborn, and anxiety over finals caused Quinn to be highly strung and intolerant. Not wanting to fight, both girls were making a conscious effort to be understanding of the other's shortcomings, but they were finding it far from easy. By the start of finals, both girls were willing the week to be over so that life could go back to normal.

Santana's call time was seven thirty on Friday morning and even though Quinn's class wasn't until ten, she was awake before dawn to make Santana the good luck pancakes that her fiancee had begged for as they'd been getting ready for bed the night before. Quinn had her textbook propped open against the syrup bottle as she worked at the stove, but she couldn't help but glance over at the sleeping brunette every few seconds, smiling to herself as she watched Santana turn over and reach over to Quinn's side of the bed without stirring. Finding the sheets cold and empty, Santana's brow furrowed but she still didn't wake.

Quinn slid the last of the fluffy, golden-brown discs onto the plate and added a liberal amount of sugar to a steaming cup of black coffee, just the way Santana liked it. In a vain attempt to put something healthy into her fiancee's stomach, Quinn quickly diced some strawberries and banana, and tossed them into a bowl along with a handful of blueberries. Arranging the dishes neatly onto a tray, Quinn carried everything over to the sleeping brunette. She set the tray onto the nightstand, then crawled onto the bed, pressing her body against Santana's lithe frame.

"It's time to wake up, sweetie," cooed Quinn gently, but Santana merely groaned in response. Sometimes, Quinn wondered if her fiancée would sleep through the end of the world. "Baby?" coaxed Quinn, sliding her fingers under the hem of Santana's tank top to stroke her taut abdominal muscles. She felt goosebumps erupt beneath her fingers and Santana squirmed slightly but still didn't wake. Quinn chuckled to herself and decided to step up her game plan. She pressed her lips lightly against the hollow of Santana's throat, and breathed in the heavenly scent of the woman she loved. Quinn trailed a path of tiny, featherlight kisses over Santana's impossibly smooth skin, stopping when she reached the sensitive spot just behind the brunette's left ear. Feeling playful, she couldn't resist nipping at her sleeping fiancee's earlobe, as she wondered exactly how far she could take this before Santana awoke.

Quinn slipped her fingers under the waistband of Santana's sleep shorts, biting her lip to stifle a groan as her own body began to thrum with desire. Santana's skin was soft and satiny, and, as Quinn slid her fingers between the brunette's shapely thighs, deliciously hot and wet. Quinn began to stroke her fiancée into consciousness, tracing light, intimate circles with the pads of her fingers.

Moments later, Santana's eyes fluttered open and she gazed blearily at Quinn through her long, dark lashes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Quinn greeted her with a mischievous grin, biting down gently on the soft flesh of Santana's exposed shoulder as her fingers continued their ministrations between her legs. Santana gasped in response and Quinn's eyes fell appreciatively on her fiancée's chest which was rising and falling erratically beneath her tank top.

"Mmm," Santana hummed, as Quinn's fingers found a particularly sensitive spot. "Good morning to you too. What... Oh, God, right there... What time is it?" She squirmed and bucked at Quinn's touch as she panted out her question.

"Don't worry," Quinn placated her, "it's still early. We have plenty of time." She planted a series of kisses across Santana's collarbone as she spoke. "I thought you were never going to wake up though," she pouted, kicking the sheets that had tangled around Santana's waist down to the foot of the bed. "I have big plans for you this morning, and they involve you being conscious."

Reluctantly, Quinn removed her fingers from between Santana's legs, eliciting a mewl of frustration from her fiancée. Smiling to herself, Quinn tugged Santana's shorts down over her hips, sliding herself down the bed as she did so. "This needs to come off too," she said, pulling at the hem of Santana's tank top. Santana obligingly divested herself of the last of her clothing, tossing the shirt carelessly aside. Quinn licked her lips as she allowed her eyes to feast on her fiancee's naked figure.

"You too?" pleaded Santana, indicating Quinn's pajama-clad form. "Please?"

Slowly, deliberately Quinn peeled her long-sleeved shirt off her body, shivering as the cool early morning air hit her exposed skin. She shimmied out of her sweat pants but left her underwear on, earning her a fierce glare from her fiancée. "It's _my_ turn," Quinn murmured by way of an explanation as she lowered herself back onto the bed, "and I know you, sweetie. If I get naked, this will all be over a lot sooner than I planned. I want to take my time with you, and I want you to keep your hands to yourself."

"You're the one who has trouble keeping her hands to herself," huffed Santana. "Which reminds me, we still haven't followed through on our conversation at Thanksgiving..." She trailed off but grinned suggestively at Quinn, who felt a sudden, intense rush of arousal.

"It's my turn," she repeated firmly, her cheeks flushing at the images Santana was contouring in her mind.

Santana smirked. "Okay, but just remember this conversation for future reference," she said with a giggle that turned into a moan as Quinn plunged her tongue into the wet heat at Santana's center.

An hour and a half later, Santana had wolfed down a plate full of reheated pancakes, showered and dressed, and left the apartment in a whirlwind, after pressing Quinn up against the door for an intense and passionate goodbye kiss that left Quinn squirming uncomfortably with unfulfilled lust. To take her mind off her discomfort, Quinn busied herself with straightening up the apartment and cramming in a little last minute revision of her notes before leaving to get to class.

As she danced gracefully through the throng of morning commuters on the sidewalk, Quinn's mind was more focused on Santana than on her impending test. She hoped that the experience was everything her fiancée wanted it to be but she was nervous for her too. In fact, her stomach was filled with butterflies on a par with watching Beth perform at her first ever dance recital. She was more nervous for Santana than she'd been for herself during her first Cheerios competition and her first solo in glee club. She rummaged in her bag for her iPhone to send a quick message of luck to her fiancée, but when the screen illuminated she saw that Santana had beaten her to it.

_Hope you kill it in your lit final_, Santana had written, _my favorite little geek! Love you lots and can't wait to tell you all about my shoot! Hope you don't get tied up at work tonight cos I want you tied up at home instead, ha ha!_

Quinn's cheeks flushed scarlet at the not so subtle innuendo in Santana's message as she hurriedly typed her response.

_Love you too, baby, and hope the shoot goes well... How am I supposed to focus on my test after that message though?_

Almost immediately, her phone chimed with Santana's response.

_How about I threaten to withhold my sweet lady kisses unless you get an A?_ was Santana's suggestion.

_Ha_, replied Quinn. _Like you could resist me! Remind me which one of us was screaming "oh, God, baby, don't stop..." this morning?_

_You suck, Fabray! _Quinn chuckled at Santana's inelegant response.

_Sometimes_, she texted back, adding a smirking emoji for emphasis.

_And I love it! _Santana texted. _Gotta go, babe, they want me in hair and make up! How cool is that?_

_Very cool_, agreed Quinn. _Break a leg, baby, I'll see you tonight xxxx_

She switched her phone onto silent before shoving it back into her bag, trying to force her overstimulated mind back into academic mode, ready for her final.

The test went well and Quinn went to lunch with friends before starting her shift in the library. Her friends were all excited about her engagement to Santana and kept asking her questions about wedding plans that made her palms sweaty and the butterflies in her stomach feel more like bats flapping around.

"Are you going to get married here or back in Ohio?" her friend Amy, a petite girl with a cloud of vivid red hair, asked excitedly as they tucked into slices of overladen pizza.

Quinn shrugged at the question.

"Um, Ohio, I guess," she said with a frown. "We haven't really talked about it, but our families are there so..." She broke off and shrugged again, sipping her water.

"Do you want Beth to be there?" asked Tom, Amy's boyfriend, his long legs stretched out under the table. He was at least a foot taller than his girlfriend, and was quiet and thoughtful whereas the redhead tended towards loud and vivacious. At first glance, it was hard to see what attracted them to one another, but once Quinn had gotten to know them, she realized how alike they were, not in their hobbies and interests but in their outlook on life. In that way, they reminded Quinn of herself and Santana. On the surface, they were completely different too - they liked different music and movies, Quinn was a book worm whereas Santana hated to read, Santana loved spicy food but it made Quinn sick to her stomach - but underneath all of that superficial stuff, Quinn knew that Santana was her soulmate. Both of them were fiercely protective of those they loved, and both of them would go after their dreams with a ruthless determination. Quinn would do almost anything for Santana, and she knew that her fiancée would reciprocate without hesitation.

"Earth to Quinn," her friend Ellie was giggling, snapping Quinn out of her reverie. "Where did you go just then?" Three pairs of eyes were fixed on her curiously, and Quinn couldn't help but blush.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about Santana," she admitted sheepishly, to a chorus of _aww_s from the girls. She wracked her brains to remember Tom's question. "Um, I'd like Beth to be at the wedding but I don't know how practical that is," she said with a soft sigh. "It's really up to Shelby. But, as we're not even thinking about a wedding until we're done with school, and Santana's only a sophomore, we've got at least a few years to get it all figured out. So, what did you guys think of the test?" she asked, trying to change the subject. She and Santana hadn't even had chance to talk about their plans yet, and she felt funny discussing the possibilities with her friends. Luckily, her friends had plenty of opinions on the exam paper and she was able to sit back and enjoy her escape from the spotlight for a while.

As the semester was pretty much at an end, the library was quiet and there wasn't a lot for the staff to do. This enticed Quinn's colleagues to ask her the same kinds of questions as her friends, and eventually Quinn escaped into the stacks to shelve returned books in an attempt to get some peace. She was thrilled that her friends and colleagues were excited about her engagement, but she felt like it was being taken away from her somehow. She'd been so busy with school and work that she hadn't had time to think about what she wanted from the wedding, and she hadn't asked Santana what she wanted yet either. Still, she reasoned, winter break was almost upon them, and she and Santana would have time to take stock and discuss what the future held. She felt a shiver of excitement as she imagined planning their wedding together, and she resolved to discuss it with Santana over the break.

Once her shift at work was over, Quinn hurried back to the apartment, hoping to at least get dinner started before Santana arrived home. Her cellphone was ringing as she unlocked the apartment door, and she hurried to answer it in case it was Santana. It wasn't. Rachel was calling to ask about their holiday plans and invite them out to dinner the following night.

"Almost everyone's going to be there," Rachel explained cheerfully as Quinn rummaged through the cupboards and the fridge, laying out the ingredients and utensils to make dinner. "Artie already had plans with some friends from film school, but Kurt, Blaine, and Sam are in. We miss you guys - I know you're in a blissful little loved-up bubble, but we'd love to see you."

Quinn laughed. "Rach, San and I have been busy with classes. I promise we're not trying to neglect you and we're hardly in a bubble!"

"Oh really?" Quinn could picture Rachel's raised eyebrow at her disbelieving tone. "So, when's the last time you guys had sex?"

Quinn blushed at Rachel's typically direct question and was forcibly reminded of the disaster out celibacy club meeting during sophomore year when Rachel had announced to the guys that girls wanted sex just as much as they did.

"Um..." she mumbled, embarrassed and Rachel laughed triumphantly.

"Ha, see... bubble!" she insisted. "But it's okay, we'll all forgive you as long as you come to dinner tomorrow night."

"I'll talk to Santana when she gets home from her shoot," promised Quinn, switching the phone onto speaker so she could start dicing onions.

"Okay," Rachel agreed, sounding somewhat mollified. "And you can tell Santana that I hope her shoot went well, despite the ungracious, gloating and inaccurate text message she sent me when she got the job. I _am_ happy for her."

Quinn snickered. "I'll tell her, Rach, I'm sure she'll appreciate the sentiment."

"Did you put me on speakerphone?" Rachel demanded petulantly. "You know I hate that, Quinn."

Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes indulgently, not wanting to listen to Rachel give her another lecture about her opinion of speakerphones when in truth Rachel was merely sulking because she didn't feel she was getting Quinn's undivided attention. Quinn wiped her hands on a dish towel before picking up the handset and promising her she'd call her back after she'd talked to Santana, but she really had to make dinner right now.

She needn't have worried. The chilli was simmering on the stove and the plates were warming in the oven by the time Santana burst through the door, bouncing over to Quinn and swinging her around in an enthusiastic hug.

"Hi," she whispered, her gentle tone in contrast with her excitable actions. She brushed her lips lightly against Quinn's, and Quinn felt a delicious shiver travel the length of her spine.

"Hi yourself," she replied, threading her hands into Santana's hair to hold her in place. "I take it today went well?"

"I loved it!" Santana's eyes literally sparkled with delight. "This is it, Q, this is what I want to do with my life. Not commercials forever, obviously, but I want to be on a set or on a stage. Other than when I'm here with you, that's where I belong."

"You can tell me all about it over dinner," Quinn promised. Santana immediately let go of her to inspect the pans on the stove.

"You made me chilli!" she beamed, and Quinn nodded happily.

"It's your mom's recipe," she explained. "I made one extra spicy for you, and one that's mild for me."

"Did I tell you how much I love you?" Santana asked wonderingly. Quinn giggled.

"I believe you may have intimated something like that this morning," she said, biting her lip at the memory, "when I, you know..."

"Hmm, and speaking of this morning," Santana said, rummaging through her purse and pulling out a paper bag, "I bought you a gift." She handed it to Quinn with a lascivious grin.

"What is it?" Quinn asked, goosebumps erupting all over her body as she took in Santana's wolfish expression.

"Open it," insisted Santana, bouncing on her heels in anticipation.

With clumsy fingers, Quinn opened the bag and peaked inside. "I chose them because they match your eyes," Santana explained excitedly. "Do you like them?" Wordlessly, Quinn nodded as she fingered the olive green satin scarves. "I thought they might work better than handcuffs," Santana continued.

Quinn swallowed hard. Santana obviously mistook her silence for reticence, because she suddenly reached for Quinn and held her close.

"We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," she promised, her lips at Quinn's ear, the paper bag crushed between them. Quinn shook her head.

"I know," she replied, nuzzling her head against Santana's shoulder. "And I do want to. I love you." She pulled back enough to gaze into her fiancee's eyes. "I trust you." Slowly, she pressed her mouth against Santana's, her tongue stroking along Santana's full lower lip to request access. The brunette willingly deepened the kiss, groaning as Quinn's tongue explored the recesses of her mouth. When they parted, they were both flushed and breathing hard.

"I only have one request," Santana said hopefully. Quinn raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "Can we eat first because that chilli smells _really_ good and I was kind of too nervous to eat anything at the shoot?" An apologetic yet adorable pout spread across her features and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.

"Sit down, sweetie," she said through her giggles. "I'll fix you a plate."

"Best fiancée ever," Santana murmured as she threw herself down onto the couch.

"Hmm," Quinn murmured as she began to serve the chilli. "And don't you forget it!"


	14. Chapter 14

**_Author's note: Hope you're all still enjoying the story. Don't hate me but there's a bit of angst in this chapter, I couldn't keep everything sweetness and light forever! There's some happier stuff in here too though, so hopefully that makes up for the angst! Let me know what you think..._**

**Chapter Fourteen: Blink of an Eye**

During the entire time it took Santana to polish off two huge servings of chilli, she rhapsodised endlessly about filming her commercial. Quinn curled up on the couch and sipped her wine, listening to Santana describe every detail of the day. The brunette's eyes sparkled brightly and she hadn't stopped smiling throughout the entire conversation (or more accurately monologue). Quinn rested her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes contentedly for a moment. This action didn't go unnoticed by Santana.

"Hey," she said softly, breaking off from explaining to Quinn about her surprise over how long it had taken the film crew to set up for each shot. "You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" She squeezed Quinn's foot gently, rubbing her fingers over the arch, and Quinn stretched lazily into the touch.

"No," she promised, opening her eyes and smiling at her fiancée. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm listening, I promise. I just... got lost in my thoughts for a second."

"A dollar for your thoughts?" teased Santana.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "A dollar?" she queried with a low chuckle.

Santana shrugged. "Inflation," she said simply, and Quinn giggled. "Besides, your thoughts are worth more than a penny. Spill it, Q."

Quinn was quiet and thoughtful for a moment as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

"It makes me happy," she said finally, "to see you so happy. I don't think I've ever felt so... settled. Does that make sense? It's like... something has always been missing in my life, I've always been searching for something, and now I can... stop looking." She spoke hesitantly, and frowned in frustration, not really sure she was conveying her thoughts the way she'd intended. "Do you know what I'm saying?" she asked finally.

Santana beamed at her. "I do," she murmured, her hand leaving Quinn's foot to travel lightly along the back of her calf. "And I love you too... so much." She leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss against Quinn's lips, but as so often happened, the simple caress sparked a desire in both of them, and the kiss quickly deepened. Santana's tongue snaked out to stroke across Quinn's lower lip, and she opened her mouth eagerly, inviting her inside.

Santana lowered herself onto Quinn, bracing one arm against the back of the couch to keep from letting her whole weight rest on her. Quinn wriggled against her, parting her legs so that Santana settled between them. She wrapped her arms around the brunette, trailing her fingertips the length of Santana's spine before moving down and under her shirt to grasp at her fiancee's slender waist. Santana rocked her hips forward and Quinn instinctively bucked up to meet her, causing both girls to gasp simultaneously. Quinn's thumbs were just brushing the sensitive underside of Santana's breasts, dipping beneath the lace of her bra, when her cell phone began to blare obnoxiously.

"Leave it," panted Santana, showering Quinn's neck with hot, wet kisses and after a few moments the phone switched to voicemail. "Hmm, you taste good," murmured Santana against the shell of Quinn's ear, causing her to stifle a moan.

Quinn was tugging impatiently at the hem of Santana's shirt when her phone rang again, vibrating against the glass surface of the coffee table.

"It could be important," Quinn said apologetically as she reached for her phone, swiping to answer the call without checking the caller ID. It wasn't important, she immediately realized.

"Did you ask Santana yet?" Rachel asked by way of a greeting.

Quinn glared murderously at her phone, then sighed.

"No, Rach, I didn't," she said smoothly, when in truth she hadn't wanted to kill Rachel this badly since junior year of high school. "I didn't get chance yet."

"Well, could you ask her now?" Rachel asked breezily. "I need to know how many people are coming so I can reserve a table."

"Hold on," Quinn told her wearily. She covered the microphone with her thumb and gazed up at Santana who was wearing an equally homicidal expression. "Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night with the gang?" she asked, shooting a 'be nice' expression at her fiancée.

Santana shrugged noncommittally. "Sure, if you want." It was clear to Quinn that Santana's mind was firmly in the here and now, and she'd agree to pretty much anything if it meant getting Rachel of the phone and Quinn back in her arms. It gave Quinn a deliciously warm feeling to know how much the brunette wanted her. Santana started to nuzzle at the sensitive skin beneath her earlobe, causing her to inhale sharply.

"We'll be there," Quinn said hurriedly into the phone, eager to end the conversation and get back to her beautiful fiancée. "Text me the details, okay?"

"Okay," agreed Rachel lightly. Then there was a pause as she seemed to notice something. "You sound out of breath, are you okay?" There was a note of concern to her voice that kept Quinn from being too annoyed with her.

"I'm fine, Rach," she replied. "But..."

Rachel cut her off before she could finish. "Then why do you...? Oh." There was a sudden realization in her tone. "Are you guys... you know?"

Quinn groaned inwardly. At least Rachel didn't actually say the words this time.

"Not right at this second," she said through gritted teeth.

On the other end of the line, Rachel snickered. "I'm sorry," she said, not sounding apologetic in the slightest. "But, in my defense, you did say you'd ask her, and..."

This time it was Quinn's turn to cut her off. "I know, Rach," she placated. "So, we'll catch up at dinner tomorrow night, okay? But I _really_ have to go now."

"Is Santana mad?" Rachel asked, sounding almost hopeful. Quinn knew she should be one hundred percent on Santana's side when it came to their playful rivalry, but she knew that her fiancée was more than capable of holding her own, and she did enjoy being an objective observer to their teasing banter.

"You'll have to ask her that yourself at dinner," Quinn said lightly, "but the longer you keep me talking, I'd say it's more and more likely."

"Oh," Rachel said softly. "Well, in that case I'll let you get back to... whatever you were doing."

Quinn ended the call and switched her phone onto silent in case Rachel suddenly decided to call them back to ask if they wanted Thai or Chinese food, or if they wanted to catch a movie after dinner.

"Now, where were we?" she asked, running her fingers over the exposed skin of Santana's forearm.

"Not here," Santana murmured as Quinn leaned forwards to kiss her, reaching her free hand up to ghost across her lips. "I want to take you to bed."

Quinn's eyes fell instinctively on the paper bag containing the silk scarves that lay on the covers, and she wet her lips subconsciously, swallowing hard.

"It's okay," Santana told her firmly. "We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Quinn searched Santana's gaze intently as she answered. "It was my idea."

Santana shrugged. "I know, but that doesn't mean you're committed. I know what it means to you, Q, being in control. Just knowing that you've considered giving that up for me, I know how much that means. But you don't have to prove anything to me. I know you trust me. If you want to do this, now or in the future, I'm all in, but I want you to be sure."

Quinn took a deep breath. "I'm sure," she whispered. She extracted herself from beneath Santana and stood up, holding out a hand to tug the brunette along with her. "I want you," she whispered throatily.

Santana's eyes darkened with instant lust at her tone. "I'm all yours," she promised.

In a tangle of limbs and discarded clothing, they stumbled towards the bed, kissing and groping any part of each other that they could reach. By the time they tumbled onto the mattress, Santana was naked from the waist up, clad only in her figure-hugging skinny jeans, and Quinn was stripped to her underwear. Santana peeled Quinn's bra straps from her shoulders, planting searing kisses over her exposed skin. She sucked hard enough to leave a mark on the sensitized flesh and Quinn bit down on her lower lip to stifle a moan.

Even as she struggled to divest Santana of her clothing, Quinn reached blindly for the bag containing the scarves and pressed it into her fiancée's hand urgently. There was a throbbing between her thighs that was becoming impossible to ignore, and the anticipation of what was coming was almost enough to send her over the edge.

Santana paused in her ministrations and sat back on her thighs, studying Quinn silently. Only her heaving chest and mussed hair betrayed her suddenly calm demeanour. With an infinitesimally light touch, Santana reached for Quinn's hand and intertwined their fingers, giving her a brief but reassuring squeeze before gently tugging Quinn's arm up beside her head.

"Keep your hand there, okay?" she whispered, her tone dripping with desire. Quinn nodded fervently and focussed all of her attention on trying to remember how to breathe. She squirmed uncomfortably as her arousal reached an almost unbearable level.

"Hurry up," she huffed, but Santana merely chuckled.

"Patience, baby," she chastised, reaching into the bag and removing one of the scarves. She ran the soft material over Quinn's stomach, and over the valley between her breasts, and Quinn shivered at the fluttery sensation of the silk drifting over her heated skin.

She watched breathlessly as Santana firmly secured the scarf to the wooden post at the corner of their headboard, before the brunette reached for her wrist and wrapped the silk around it. Quinn let out a low whimper as Santana tested the strength of the bond.

"Tell me if it's too tight," Santana instructed, but Quinn shook her head vehemently.

"It's fine," she said hoarsely. "Better than fine."

Santana reached for her other hand to repeat the process, but paused to press her lips to the tender skin on the inside of Quinn's wrist. When she laved her tongue over Quinn's pulse point, Quinn moaned at the surprising erotic touch. Santana quickly secured her second wrist to the headboard before sitting back to admire her handiwork.

"Beautiful," she murmured as her eyes feasted over Quinn's exposed body. Quinn flushed violently, surprised at the intensity of her reaction to the brunette's words. Santana had seen her naked many times after all, but there was something different about being in this position. She felt vulnerable and exposed, but she had no desire to cover herself. Instead, she was almost embarrassingly eager to give herself to her fiancée and let Santana do whatever she wanted with her. She honestly thought she might explode if Santana didn't make love to her soon.

"Please, San," she begged, surprising herself with just how needy her voice sounded. "Touch me, kiss me... just... do _something_." In a futile gesture, Quinn lifted her hips off of the mattress, but Santana was still too far away. Gentle hands ghosted over her outer thighs and settled on her bucking hips, effectively stilling her. Santana ran her hands up Quinn's torso, brushing over her navel before traveling up to cup her breasts, stroking her thumbs over hardened nipples. Quinn arched instinctively into the caress, as Santana's fingertips sent pleasurable shivers coursing through her body.

When Santana replaced her fingers with her mouth, latching onto Quinn's left nipple and stroking the sensitive flesh with the flat of her tongue, Quinn couldn't stop the cry of pleasure that tumbled from her lips. Her own fingers ached to tangle themselves into Santana's soft hair and hold her in place, but she was powerless against the restraints, and somehow that made each touch, each stroke infinitely more intense. Her whole body felt like it was singing and Quinn could hear herself uttering a string of unintelligible curses and pleas as Santana brought her closer and closer to bliss.

Santana ran her free hand up the inside of Quinn's thigh as she continued to suckle at her breast. "Oh, God, Q, you're so wet," she whispered reverently as her fingers pressed lightly against Quinn's underwear. "If I'd known this was how you'd react, we'd have tried this a long time ago." She tugged at the damp cotton. "Do you want me to take these off you?"

Quinn nodded eagerly and Santana chuckled. She removed her right hand from Quinn's breast where it had been pinching and rolling her nipple, and Quinn whined at the loss of contact but instantly forgave Santana as her fiancée began peeling her soaked underwear down her thighs. When she finished, Santana climbed off the bed and shimmied out of her own remaining clothes.

She smiled teasingly at Quinn, who lay panting and trembling on the bed. Slowly, deliberately, she lay down beside her, infuriatingly just out of reach.

"What do you want me to do next?" she asked, reaching up to brush damp strands of blonde hair out of Quinn's eyes.

"Anything," Quinn begged, squeezing her thighs together as the throbbing between them grew exponentially now that Santana was naked and so close. She tugged futilely against her bonds, desperate to feel her fiancee's skin against her own. Santana hadn't even touched her yet and she felt like the first contact with the brunette's fingers would send her crashing over the edge. It was maddening how in control of her emotions Santana appeared to be, when Quinn was reduced to thrashing and writhing and pleading.

"Anything..." Santana murmured. With a mischievous look in her dark eyes she ran her fingers over her own breast, circling the nipple. Quinn watched as the nub tightened and darkened, and she felt a fresh wave of arousal pool between her thighs. Santana didn't linger at her breast, she walked her fingertips down, over her abdomen, dipping into her navel, before dipping between her thighs.

Quinn swallowed hard as she watched Santana touch herself, torn between wanting to watch her continue, and wanting those fingers stroking and swirling between her own thighs. Her fingers literally ached to touch her fiancée, and she was amazed when she felt the sting of tears in her eyes.

"Santana," she whispered urgently. Santana's beautiful dark eyes flew open and fixed on Quinn's as she smiled. She removed her hand from the apex of her thighs and brought it to Quinn's lips. Quinn moaned audibly as she sucked hard on Santana's fingers, swirling her tongue over the slender digits and tasted the unique flavor of the brunette's arousal. Before she could savor the sensation however, Santana seemed to have reached the limits of her own restraint as she withdrew her fingers and crashed her lips against Quinn's. Their tongues duelled as they both sought to control the kiss, and when they came up for air they were both panting hard.

"San, I need you... now," Quinn groaned desperately. "Please?" She didn't have to ask a second time. Santana's talented fingers were between her legs in an instant, stroking and caressing Quinn's most sensitive places with an expert touch. Santana knew instinctively which spot would make her gasp, and which would make her moan. As she deftly pressed two slender digits into the velvet heat at Quinn's center, she curled them upwards and Quinn felt herself shatter into a thousand stars, barely aware of screaming Santana's name over and over as she came undone.

When she finally started to come back to the real world, she was aware of Santana untying the scarves that bound her to the headboard.

"Are you okay?" Santana asked softly, her dark eyes full of concern as she rubbed at a reddened spot on Quinn's recently freed wrist. "You were kind of out of it for a minute."

Quinn giggled, and Santana's face instantly relaxed.

"I'm amazing," she assured her. "San, that was..." she searched for the right words but her mind failed her... "amazing," she said finally. "You were..."

"Amazing?" Santana guessed, settling down beside her and drawing Quinn's head onto her shoulder.

"Uh huh," Quinn agreed, stifling a yawn. Her body felt completely and utterly spent, her limbs had turned to jelly, and she had the vocabulary of a five year old, but she'd never felt so content. She was vaguely aware of Santana tugging the covers over them both, and it took all of her effort to open her eyes and lift her head to meet Santana's gaze. "What're you doing?"

"Getting ready to go to sleep," Santana said with a chuckle.

"But I haven't... I mean, don't you need to... you know?" Santana laughed out loud at Quinn's inability to say the words.

"Q, baby, someday you're going to have to learn to talk about sex," she teased. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Especially after what we just did." Quinn flushed and buried her head into the crook of Santana's neck. "And no, I don't need to _you know_. Watching you come was enough to get me off too. You look so beautiful when you let go." Her voice grew soft as she savored the memory and Quinn kissed the soft skin of her neck tenderly.

"I love you," she murmured sleepily.

"I love you too." Santana reached out to turn out the lamp on the nightstand, plunging them into darkness. Then she laughed again. "Besides, even if I did need taking care of, I don't think you could stay awake long enough to do anything about it." She sounded immeasurably proud of herself. She burst into a fit of silent giggles. On any other occasion, Quinn would have done anything to prove Santana wrong - she would have flipped them over and reduced Santana to begging, trembling, and pleading before pushing her into ecstasy with her head buried between Santana's thighs - but this time she had to admit defeat. Thoroughly sated, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep with the image of Santana screaming her name firmly ensconced in her mind.

When Quinn awoke, sunlight was streaming through the curtains and Santana was splayed out beside her on the mattress, her chest rising and falling evenly and peacefully. Quinn stretched, feeling her sore muscles protest. Their was a dull ache at the base of her spine and her wrists were a little tender but she felt good. Her stomach growled loudly and she laughed to herself as she extricated herself from Santana, whose arm was thrown casually across Quinn's stomach.

She pulled on a t-shirt and shorts and set about making breakfast as quietly as possible. Santana didn't wake up until the French toast was sizzling in the frying pan. She sniffed the air appreciatively as she sat up, beaming at Quinn.

"Something smells good," she commented, crawling to the edge of the bed and locating her sweats.

"French toast," Quinn said lightly. "It's almost ready. Stay there and I'll bring it over." Santana ignored her, stalking across the room and wrapping her arms around Quinn from behind. She pressed a kiss to the spot beneath Quinn's ear that never failed to make her moan. "Did you sleep okay?" Quinn asked, wriggling playfully out of her fiancee's embrace.

"Like a baby." Santana took the plate Quinn offered her and sat back on the bed, arranging the pillows behind her.

"Me too," said Quinn as she joined her, balancing her own breakfast on her lap. "I'm so glad finals are over... for this semester at least. Have you thought about what classes you're going to take in the spring yet?"

Santana paused mid-chew and looked over at Quinn with an unreadable expression. She set her fork down.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that," she said quietly. "Don't get mad, okay? I'm done with school. It's not me, Q. Yesterday just proved it to me. I don't belong in a classroom. I quit. I called the school and told them I'm not coming back." She stopped talking and looked at Quinn anxiously. "Q?" she said softly when Quinn didn't respond. "Say something, please?"

Quinn shook her head.

"What is there to say?" she asked bitterly. "You made _your_ decision." Suddenly, she wasn't hungry any more. She climbed off the bed and went to throw the remains of her breakfast in the trash.

"I know you're mad..." Santana began hesitantly.

"Really, Santana?" spat Quinn angrily. "I don't know where you got that idea!"

"I know you think school is important," Santana said desperately, "but that's you, Q, not me."

"You think that's why I'm mad?" Quinn asked incredulously. "San, I want you to be happy, I've told you that a thousand times."

"Then why?" Santana's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I'll give you a clue," Quinn told her, fighting to keep control of her emotions. "It has five letters and begins with T."

Santana shook her head, still at a loss.

"_Trust_," said Quinn desperately. "We're supposed to be a couple. We're supposed to be getting married and you go and make a huge decision without even talking to me, how do you think that makes me feel?" Her voice broke on the last word, and she blinked back tears of frustration as she fought the urge to run. "I can't look at you right now!" she yelled as her temper overwhelmed her. Without another word, she stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door as violently as she could muster, wondering how everything could go from idyllic to shattered in the blink of an eye.


End file.
